Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez could afford a wry smile after Ryan Babel made the most of the wide open spaces at the Reebok Stadium.
The Dutch winger scored his eighth goal of the season in Sunday's 3-1 Barclays Premier League victory against Bolton.
Babel was on target with a clinical finish after a bizarre own-goal from Jussi Jaaskelainen in the 11th minute.
Steven Gerrard's effort was going wide but the Bolton goalkeeper inexplicably helped it into his own net with his face.
There was no way back for Wanderers after that and Fabio Aurelio added a spectacular third before Tamir Cohen scored a consolation for the struggling home side.
Babel could now have a more prominent role to play in the coming weeks of the season.
Benitez said: "It was a good game for him against Bolton as they were looking out for Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
"It meant that Ryan had more freedom and he is the kind of player who can run behind defenders."
Liverpool now entertain West Ham on Wednesday in good heart after this comfortable victory.
Benitez said: "Every win is important when you are fighting for fourth place. You need to put the other teams around you under pressure and we have done that.
"As we have a game in hand, it depends on what we do. You do not need to see the table every day.
"If we can win against West Ham then we go go into the game after that with confidence."
Benitez reiterated he is content at Anfield and claimed his focus was on winning matches and not his future plans.
"I am really happy here at Liverpool," he said. "At this moment, though, I am only thinking about our games."
Benitez had some sympathy for Jaaskelainen, but added: "It was disappointing for him but good for us.
"Sometimes these things happen and we went on to play well after a difficult opening few minutes.
"We knew if we did not pass the ball then we could get drawn into a physical game.
"We needed to play at a high tempo and keep our concentration and we did that."
Bolton may be in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup but they remain in danger of relegation.
Due to face Sporting Lisbon on Thursday, they could be without captain Kevin Nolan as he suffered a back injury yesterday and came off at half-time.
Manager Gary Megson excused Jaaskelainen for his gaffe by saying: "Jussi is a fantastic goalkeeper. He made two great saves after that but he has held his hands up.
"The first goal can be vital and it took the wind out of our sails. We got picked off rather too easily after that."
The Dutch winger scored his eighth goal of the season in Sunday's 3-1 Barclays Premier League victory against Bolton.
Babel was on target with a clinical finish after a bizarre own-goal from Jussi Jaaskelainen in the 11th minute.
Steven Gerrard's effort was going wide but the Bolton goalkeeper inexplicably helped it into his own net with his face.
There was no way back for Wanderers after that and Fabio Aurelio added a spectacular third before Tamir Cohen scored a consolation for the struggling home side.
Babel could now have a more prominent role to play in the coming weeks of the season.
Benitez said: "It was a good game for him against Bolton as they were looking out for Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
"It meant that Ryan had more freedom and he is the kind of player who can run behind defenders."
Liverpool now entertain West Ham on Wednesday in good heart after this comfortable victory.
Benitez said: "Every win is important when you are fighting for fourth place. You need to put the other teams around you under pressure and we have done that.
"As we have a game in hand, it depends on what we do. You do not need to see the table every day.
"If we can win against West Ham then we go go into the game after that with confidence."
Benitez reiterated he is content at Anfield and claimed his focus was on winning matches and not his future plans.
"I am really happy here at Liverpool," he said. "At this moment, though, I am only thinking about our games."
Benitez had some sympathy for Jaaskelainen, but added: "It was disappointing for him but good for us.
"Sometimes these things happen and we went on to play well after a difficult opening few minutes.
"We knew if we did not pass the ball then we could get drawn into a physical game.
"We needed to play at a high tempo and keep our concentration and we did that."
Bolton may be in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup but they remain in danger of relegation.
Due to face Sporting Lisbon on Thursday, they could be without captain Kevin Nolan as he suffered a back injury yesterday and came off at half-time.
Manager Gary Megson excused Jaaskelainen for his gaffe by saying: "Jussi is a fantastic goalkeeper. He made two great saves after that but he has held his hands up.
"The first goal can be vital and it took the wind out of our sails. We got picked off rather too easily after that."
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