Another loss makes new Liverpool boss faces criticism

A good, old-fashioned NorthWest Derby that promised goals and gaffs galore and delivered a rather disappointing 1-0 win to Bolton.

It was Liverpool's second loss of the week and manager Rafael Benitez had to face the criticism of the invading media.

His response was suitably measured, blaming the loss on an offside decision, which in his opinion was incorrect, as he commented, "I have seen the TV and it was a goal".

At Reebok Stadium, the match started in particularly cagey fashion with Kevin Davies elbowing Sammi Hyypia in the face, which is unsurprising given that Davies committed more fouls last season than any other man -- 98 in total.

The new look Liverpool side began with a five-man midfield, including new Spanish signings Luis Garcia and Xabi Alonso.

This did little to enhance the first-half performance of the Liverpudlians, as Baros was isolated in his lone role upfront.

His only chance of the first-half was hit wide as the Bolton sweeper system counteracted Liverpool's burgeoning midfield, therefore castrating any chance of decent service making it through to the Czech striker.

Anyway, the Liverpool midfield had enough problems on their plate dealing with Jay Jay Okocha, whose sprightly twists and turns mocked the integrity of Steven Gerard and company.

Grabbing the ball just past the half-way line, Henrik Pederson turbo-heeled towards the left hand corner and whipped in a wonderful cross that both Reese and Carragher missed.

The ball eventually found Kevin Davies at the back post and he finished with the outside of his boot.

If you are wondering where Polish goal-keeper Dudek was, he had dived into the ground in an attempt to win the Gold Medal for the 15 metre Highboard, but unfortunately the judges were not impressed and all he got was an angry response from returning defender Djimi Traore.

The second half saw Bolton almost extend their lead with a good shot from Okocha saved and Liverpool fans were dismayed when a Luis Garcia goal was disallowed due to a close offside decision.

In retrospect the goal should have stood as the young Spaniard was on-side when the ball was played.

Referee's assistant Glen Turner was to blame and worryingly he was also the Football Association's representative at the European Championships this year.

However, the linesman had little to do Gabriel Cisse missing the net, only a couple of minutes later.

Michael Owen's replacement was put clear by Luis Garcia and shot wide in the best chance of the game for Liverpool.

It had been another disappointing day for Liverpool, which sees Bolton move up to third place in the league and there is every possibility that they will be contending for at least UEFA Cup places, if not higher, come the end of the season.