Gerrard gets Liverpool out of jail as Bolton fail to hang on

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Bolton Wanderers 2 Liverpool 3: EACH NEW season creates its own trend and the must-have for '09-10 is a "deceiving the referee" charge.

Thanks to Uefa’s decision to detonate a can of worms over Eduardo da Silva’s dive against Celtic, it may prove irresistible to any manager nursing a grievance. Gary Megson filed the complaint at the Reebok Stadium where he accused Rafael Benitez’s players of consistently “waiting for the hit and then going down”.

The anger of the Bolton Wanderers manager was understandable, given that a potentially watershed victory for his team evaporated on the draconian toss of a red card to Sean Davis. But blessed fortune, not skulduggery, was the cornerstone of Liverpool’s recovery and put the gloss on their latest unconvincing show.

Misfortune consumed Megson the moment Davis and Lucas Leiva collided and the referee Alan Wiley deemed an innocuous touch worthy of a second yellow card. It continued as Bolton reacted with a defensive substitution, but Fernando Torres equalised before they could. It was also Megson’s ill-luck that Davis foolishly invited his first booking by kicking the ball away in first-half stoppage time. Or that Zat Knight opted to ball-watch instead of track Torres when Dirk Kuyt teed up the Spaniard for Liverpool’s second. Uefa’s problematic stance on Eduardo, however, has invited diversionary tactics to thrive.

“Some of the opponents we play are chucking themselves all over the pitch. The question is do we accept it or do we join in?” Megson asked rhetorically.Lucas has been accused of many misdemeanours at Liverpool, but not even the Brazilian’s biggest baiter would charge him with slowing down and waiting for a foul while clear of his man in the final third and with Liverpool trailing 2-1.

The midfielder’s crime was to demand a second yellow card from Wiley, who had gone for his pocket the second Lucas fell. Megson had added legitimacy in his accusation as two Liverpool players – Torres and Steven Gerrard – had made the most of fair challenges inside the Bolton penalty area.

“If someone throws themselves over and doesn’t get booked they can still be punished,” the Bolton manager said. “But when did you last see that happen?” Until Wiley enabled Liverpool to follow an identical script to last season’s 3-2 victories over the 10 men of Manchester City and Wigan Athletic, this was shaping into an ignominious trial for Benitez. Defensively, Liverpool were as fractured as in their defeat to Aston Villa, with a third central defensive pairing in three matches to blame.

Kevin Davies gave Bolton the lead from a Matt Taylor corner and Tamir Cohen restored the advantage following Glen Johnson’s equaliser when Davies beat the debutant Sotirios Kyrgiakos to a long ball into the box.

“It doesn’t really worry me,” was Benitez’s take on Bolton’s first league goals of the season. “You know how important set-pieces are in this stadium.” Davis’s dismissal altered everything. Torres struck while the lowest crowd to gather at the Reebok for this fixture was digesting the decision before Gerrard, shackled by Fabrice Muamba before the red card and uncontrollable afterwards, showed superb technique to drive the winner into the top corner from 18 yards.

“I’m sure if I’d gone to the toilet in the first half Muamba would have followed me,” said Gerrard.

Guardian Service