SO Steven Gerrard has already made his first priceless intervention this season – because that game at Bolton was one that Liverpool had to win.
That’s not me over-stating the importance of victories in August or suggesting that dropping more points would mean the title challenge was already over.
But I said after the defeat to Aston Villa last week that to get the season up and running, it was all about response and reaction. And going into the international break with another three points in the bag was essential to Liverpool’s mindset after the first few games of the campaign.
And with a few decent looking fixtures coming up, with Burnley and Hull soon to visit Anfield, the confidence boost of an away win is the perfect weapon to take into games that, if you’re going to be up there, you have to take three points from.
But I hope no Liverpool fans got too stressed during the drama at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday – because I get the feeling there’s going to be plenty more where that came from.
Rafael Benitez’s players are already paying the price for their vast improvement last season. They are seen as an even bigger scalp than before and teams are determined to stop them from playing.
Bolton are a prime example. They don’t really look to play too much football as long as they stop their opponents from doing it and they seemed quite happy with a point.
As it was, before Sean Davis got sent off, Liverpool found it a struggle. And it’s a struggle they are going to have to get used to because I reckon any teams in the bottom 10 or so will just make sure they compete in the midfield areas and if it’s 0-0 or 1-1 they will be happy to take that.
When they go to Anfield you expect five men flooding the midfield but I think it could be a similar story even when it’s Liverpool who are the away team.
Because of the way the Premier League pans out so many teams set out to avoid relegation, and every point is precious. So it’s one up front when the top teams come to town and the onus is on them to break these sides down.
Chelsea found it to their cost last season when sides exposed their lack of width.
So in Liverpool’s case, it’s a good job Glen Johnson has made the start he had in terms of going forward, and other wide players like Albert Riera and Yossi Benayoun need to follow suit.
They are absolutely vital outlets if Liverpool are having trouble breaking teams down.
Which brings us back to Gerrard. That type of match-winning strike is something he has been doing for 10 years and I don’t think it had anything to do with anything Benitez said about his performances.
That sort of thing doesn’t work with him.
The fact is he sets himself such unbelievably high standards and even on a bad day he is as good as most of the rest of the players.
He knows the best way to respond to a dodgy game is to bounce back in emphatic style and the captain certainly did that at Bolton.
And you get the impression it’s not the last time he will be needed to produce something like that this season.
