Benitez's ball game looks a bit familiar

Bolton Wanderers - 1 Liverpool - 0: The new Liverpool are looking remarkably similar to the previous Liverpool - right down …

Bolton Wanderers - 1 Liverpool - 0: The new Liverpool are looking remarkably similar to the previous Liverpool - right down to the scowl on Steven Gerrard's face. They can curse the trigger-happy linesman who denied Luis Garcia a debut goal seven minutes from time but the real cause for consternation among their supporters will be the uninspiring football played by Rafael Benitez's team.

Garcia had been played onside by Bruno N'Gotty but Liverpool will struggle to generate sympathy as long as they bring a dose of conservatism to a league that demands excitement. Hard on the heels of a second-leg defeat to Graz AK in the Champions League qualifiers, their performance could be gauged by the fact they mustered only one shot on target - a Gerrard miskick that did not test Bolton's goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

To dwell too much on Liverpool's deficiencies would be unfair on a Bolton side who have now won three of their opening four Premiership fixtures. Despite the rarity of a subdued performance from Jay-Jay Okocha, Sam Allardyce's players worked indefatigably to protect the lead given to them by Kevin Davies's close-range finish.

"We need time," acknowledged Benitez. "We are looking to build a powerful team but it might take three or four months."

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Liverpool paid a club record £14 million to Auxerre for Djibril Cisse, but there was no starting place for him here even though he suffered no injuries in a crash with a police car on Friday. Just as mystifying was Benitez's withdrawal of Stephen Warnock at half-time when the left-sided midfielder had been outstanding while Garcia and Xabi Alonso had ineffective debuts.

Bolton's goal epitomised how they generally made better use of the ball despite not having as much of it as their opponents. Henrik Pedersen eluded Josemi to cross from the left and, though Stelios Giannakopoulos missed the ball as it skidded across the six-yard area, so did the sprawling Jerzy Dudek. Davies controlled the ball and, with no goalkeeper to beat but two defenders in front of him, scored with a minimum of fuss.

Davies had already made his mark inside the first minute when, trying to flick on a long punt, he inadvertently thrust his head into Sami Hyypia's face. The Liverpool centre-half struggled manfully on for another 13 minutes with a broken nose and blurred vision.

Their keep-ball in midfield mattered little since they lacked the guile to open up the home defence. Garcia was ineffective until the last 20 minutes when he moved infield. Milan Baros had difficult game and once Benitez withdrew Warnock they lost impetus on the left. Cisse seemed fretful when he came on and squandered a late opportunity.