Steven Gerrard comes to the rescue once again

Steven Gerrard comes to the rescue once again

Steven Gerrard provided the answer in actions, not just words, which Rafael Benitez demanded after a traumatic opening to Liverpool's season.

Everything in the Anfield garden may not yet be rosy, but at least the Merseysiders are not having to contemplate the end of their title challenge before the transfer window shuts.

That would have been the nature of the inquest had Bolton inflicted a third league defeat on the Reds in the campaign's first fortnight.

Gary Megson's side, still without a point this term, tried their best and led twice through Kevin Davies and Tamir Cohen as Liverpool failed to handle crosses into the box.

Glen Johnson's second goal of the campaign in the first half kept Liverpool in it, but Bolton were still 2-1 ahead when Sean Davis was sent off after 54 minutes for two bookable offences.

From then on Liverpool battered away, Fernando Torres equalised and then Gerrard lashed home the winner in the dying minutes.

Liverpool boss Benitez had been critical of his senior men and their perceived lack of responsibility ahead of the match, and had even gone to the extent of suggesting Gerrard had played a couple of below-par games.

Such is the influence of Gerrard, such a statement could represent a full-blown crisis.

But whoever writes the 29 year-old's scripts - and there have been plenty of crackers over the years - came up with another and Gerrard responded in the only way he knows.

He was not back to his best by a long way, but cometh the hour, cometh the man, Gerrard putting Liverpool back on track and ending any thoughts that he was distracted by his summer court case or next year's World Cup finals.

Gerrard said: "The manager questioned the whole team after Monday's home defeat by Aston Villa, and rightly so. We were nowhere near good enough and we didn't play close to our standard.

"There has been a lot of soul-searching this week. The manager asked for character, determination and intensity and I think he got the three things he wanted from us all.

"We have had a couple of good meetings this week and we couldn't wait for this game to come around.

"We went behind twice but again we showed what character we have in this team.

"Going behind twice there are times when you think you are not going to get a point, never mind three, but we got our rewards in the end and we could have ended up scoring four or five."

Gerrard added: "We now go away on international duty and when we get back we will have a few new faces back in the squad with the lads who have been out injured, so that will give us a boost.

"We played so well last season and everyone was expecting us to start strongly again and win matches, but we all expected that ourselves.

"To lose two games already was a bit of a shock to us all but it is all about reactions. We know we have got a good team, a team that is capable of fighting for the title and we have got to go and prove that now."

Megson reckoned the dismissal of Davis for a trip on Lucas, changed the course of the game, and he was right.

But his criticism of players who slow down when running to allow defenders to foul them was a pretty lame defence.

The real change, though, was the freedom Gerrard got when Bolton were down to 10 men. Bolton could not afford to have Fabrice Muamba man-marking Gerrard in such circumstances, and the Liverpool skipper ran the show from then on.

Gerrard said: "We got our rewards and deserved to win it. But Bolton are organised and very dangerous at set-pieces and they showed that by going ahead twice.

"I knew Gary (Megson) would have Fabrice marking me, because he did the same thing twice last season. Fabrice is a very fit lad and can get about the pitch and he was my shadow.

"I don't like seeing men get sent off, but it worked in my favour because I could get more space and have more of an impact."

Megson said: "The red card was the turning point, and I have sympathy for Sean over both yellow cards. Yes, you should not kick the ball away from a free-kick, but that was just frustration.

"And when someone is running away from you and slows up, there is contact. We were not cute enough, maybe we should get better ourselves at chucking ourselves all over the field.

"You control the ball, wait for the hit in the back and over you go. The referee is suckered into giving it."