Bolton - 2 Liverpool - 3Liverpool fly to Valencia this morning with a quartet of forward-thinking volunteers eagerly offering to carry Gerard Houllier's bags at John Lennon International airport. Their motivation may be transparent, the enthusiasm hardly likely to sway the manager's thinking but Houllier still has plenty to ponder.
Only late last week the Frenchman was bemoaning the fact that his profligate strikers had contributed only one of his side's 10 goals this season and that from the penalty spot. Now, in the wake of Saturday's rumbustious display at the Reebok, he appears spoiled for choice. "You can't expect me to play all four," smiled Houllier.
With Michael Owen and El Hadji Diouf fidgeting awkwardly on the bench this was an opportunity for Milan Baros and Emile Heskey to shine. The latter was given only five minutes away from uncomfortable duties on the left flank and duly capitalised to slam in the winner, his first goal since England swept past Denmark in Niigata.
Bolton, excellent throughout but giddy after Ivan Campo's equaliser had pegged the visitors back to 2-2 for a fourth consecutive match, did not touch the ball between restart and concession.
Yet the main attraction was Baros. The youngster, signed from Banik Ostrava for £3.2m while Houllier was recuperating after heart surgery, played 16 minutes for the first team last season.
After six goals in his previous two appearances - for club reserves and country - the 20-year-old struck the post when he should have scored 39 minutes into his Premiership debut but was irrepressible thereafter. It is inconceivable that Owen will not feature in Liverpool's European opener tomorrow but, while the Czech may be similar in stature and style, this evidence suggests they would be a logical pairing.
Dietmar Hamann's pass and Bruno Cheyrou's stepover allowed Baros to by-pass Mike Whitlow and turn inside Simon Charlton before crunching a shot beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen to earn Liverpool the lead. His second, a volley steered beyond the Finn from Steven Gerrard's cross, re-established that advantage.
"He's the reason we let Jari Litmanen leave," said Houllier, who first spotted Baros playing for the Czech under-18s in Ireland only to be advised against signing him by his first-team coach Jacques Crevoisier. The former France under-20s coach's disapproval was sparked by the memory of Baros's theatricals during a junior international.
"He told me he didn't like the boy from what he'd seen in that match but I back my own judgment," said Houllier.
BOLTON: Jaaskelainen, Barness (Livesey 30), Bergsson, Whitlow (Campo 45), Charlton, Nolan, Frandsen, Gardner, Djorkaeff (Walters 75), Dean Holdsworth, Pedersen. Subs Not Used: Poole, Okocha. Booked: Bergsson, Gardner. Goals: Gardner 54, Campo 87.
LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Diao, Hyypia, Carragher, Traore, Murphy, Gerrard, Hamann, Heskey, Baros, Cheyrou (Riise 85). Subs Not Used: Diouf, Owen, Berger, Kirkland. Booked: Hamann, Baros. Goals: Baros 45, 72, Heskey 88. Attendance: 27,328.
Referee: R Styles (Hampshire).
