SAME opponents, similar result, very different Liverpool FC.
This was a day which graphically underlined just how far the Reds have come in a short space of time.
When Bolton last arrived at Anfield back on New Year’s Day, they faced a club in crisis. Anger and bitterness poured down from the stands at the sorry mess unfolding in front of them.
The football was dour and the mood was funereal. Liverpool had a manager so out of his depth he needed armbands – and a star striker who had long since thrown in the towel.
Joe Cole’s last-gasp strike may have secured a 2-1 win but there was precious little to cheer and the 10,000 empty seats forced the club’s new owners to take action.
It was the last home game of Roy Hodgson’s sorry reign.
Eight months on, Liverpool are a very different beast. Hope and belief are back and Bolton felt the full force of the Reds’ revival on Saturday.
For the first time in 840 days Liverpool sat on top of the Premier League on Saturday night.
Of course at such an early stage in proceedings positions count for little, but it was symbolic nevertheless.
A bright new era under Kenny Dalglish is gathering pace.
Having stopped the rot last term, the Kop legend is now in the process of building a second Anfield dynasty.
Dalglish has transformed the mood and the manager is fortunate that his burning ambition for success is matched by Fenway Sports Group. Their £110million spending spree has re-invigorated a squad that after years of under-investment was in desperate need of strengthening.
Dalglish has been able to go out and get the talent he needed to fit his free-flowing attacking philosophy and Anfield is once again buzzing with excitement.
The latest recruit, Sebastian Coates, watched on from the directors box on Saturday. When a work permit is secured, the giant centre-back will complete his £7million move from Nacional.
Having travelled 7,000 miles, Coates was treated to a master-class from his Uruguay team-mate Luis Suarez.
Much has been made about some of the fees Liverpool have shelled out for players this year, but at £22.8million Suarez looks like the bargain of the century.
On current form there isn’t a striker in world football you would swap him for.
Bolton became the latest club to suffer at his hands as he terrorised their backline throughout.
His pace, his touch and his movement make him a nightmare for defenders and Gary Cahill was made to look distinctly average.
Suarez didn’t score and missed two gilt-edged chances, but still walked away clutching the man of the match champagne.
The part Suarez played in the opening goal was breathtaking, as with the outside of his right boot he curled in an exquisite cross from the left.
Stewart Downing’s stunning volley was parried by Jussi Jaaskelainen, but Bolton failed to clear and Jordan Henderson expertly found the top corner.
Suarez is a fierce competitor and he looked devastated to be hauled off in the closing stages.
A string of baffling decisions from the hapless Lee Probert didn’t help his mood – Zat Knight somehow got away with grabbing his ankles in the penalty box before Jaaskelainen escaped unpunished for handling a backpass.
But Dalglish will hope Suarez bottles up the frustration and takes it out on Stoke City a week on Saturday.
Suarez lights up Anfield every time he’s on the ball, but this is no one-man team.
Dalglish’s recruitment drive has ensured Liverpool possess an array of attacking options and the new boys are starting to click.
Henderson enjoyed his best display for the Reds and a first goal will do him the world of good.
The England Under-21 international is not the finished article and at times takes the wrong option, but Saturday suggests he has the ability to live up to his hefty price tag.
With Henderson shining on the right and Downing hugely impressive on the other flank, it was left to Lucas Leiva and Charlie Adam to run the show in the centre of the park.
Lucas was outstanding as he raced around, snapping into tackles and giving Liverpool a platform on which to build. Adam isn’t blessed with great pace but he uses the ball so intelligently and his long-range passing has pin-point accuracy.
The Scot is a creative force and he played a massive part in victory being secured early in the second half.
There’s a manager down the East Lancs Road who claimed Adam’s set-pieces are worth £10million alone and they are certainly a potent weapon.
Substitute Martin Skrtel, on at right-back after Martin Kelly limped off, needed no second invitation to attack Adam’s corner seven minutes into the second half and headed home emphatically.
Sixty seconds later Adam opened his account for his new club. The tireless Dirk Kuyt picked him out 20 yards from goal and the midfielder unleashed a low right-footer past Jaaskelainen.
Having had to wait so long to land his dream move, Adam’s joy was unconfined as he raced to celebrate in front of the Kop.
Those quickfire strikes eased any fears there would be a repeat of the Sunderland stalemate when Liverpool paid the price for not turning domination into goals.
At 3-0 the Reds were rampant and they achieved that cushion without the assistance of their record signing.
Andy Carroll had to settle for a brief cameo in place of Suarez, and with skipper Steven Gerrard nearing a comeback, competition for places is hotting up.
The only sour note was the consolation the Reds gifted Ivan Klasnic in stoppage time. Pepe Reina stamped the ground in disgust at seeing a clean sheet slip through his grasp.
The scoreline flattered Bolton but it mattered little.
With seven points out of nine, momentum is building nicely.
With trips to Stoke and Spurs next up, high standards need to be maintained.
LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Reina, Kelly (Skrtel 30), Carragher, Agger, Enrique, Henderson (Rodriguez 77), Adam, Lucas, Downing, Kuyt, Suarez (Carroll 77). Not used: Doni, Spearing, Shelvey, Robinson.
BOLTON (4-4-2): Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Robinson, Eagles (Tuncay 57), Reo-Coker, Muamba (M Davies 26), Petrov, K Davies (Pratley 71), Klasnic.Not used: Bogdan, Blake, Wheater, Riley.
GOALS: Goals: Henderson (15), Skrtel (52), Adam (53), Klasnic (90).
YELLOW CARDS: Steinsson (43), Klasnic (49).
REFEREE: Lee Probert (Wiltshire).
ATTENDANCE: 44,275.
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