Before kick off it was almost unthinkable. At 1-0 and 2-1, those same thoughts began to linger in the background, diligently nibbling away at the last nerve that remained unharmed following two weeks of shattering disappointment. Surely there was no way on earth that this team, that had shut up shop a million times before to almost mind numbing effect could let slip a fourth straight lead to drop an 8th straight point?
Twice during this afternoons proceedings, those fears became a real possibility as Wanderers twice cancelled out Milan Baros' exhilarating debut strikes appearing to have earned themselves another point in a very profitable week. But a last minute strike from Emile Heskey finally put an end to the 2-2 hoodoo to put Liverpool's championship challenge firmly back on track.
Something else which is firmly back on track is Milan Baros' Liverpool career. The young Czech was magnificent and the hat-trick he could have had today would have given a fairer reflection of his performance. His tireless running and renewed enthusiasm coupled with some fierce shooting and some fine pieces of skill, repaid every ounce of faith shown by his manager.
With the slightly off-colour Michael Owen's name surprisingly missing from the team sheet with Tuesday's trip to Valencia in mind, Bolton must have been breathed a sigh of relief, but Baros' impact was such that when they visit Anfield it may be young Milan that they will hope to see warming the bench.
Right from the off he had looked the Reds' most dangerous outlet, working the channels superbly and feeding excellently from Murphy's midfield artistry. However it was the home side that made the early running, testing Liverpool's new look defence - with Salif Diao partnering Sami - on a number of occasions.
Referee Rob Styles had a ridiculously poor first 20 minutes adding to Liverpool's jitters at the back, decision after decision was wrongly awarded to the home side and a scandalous booking for Didi Hamann had most of the travelling Kopites up in arms.
A fine save from Dudek following Frandsen's shot was the closest Bolton came to opening the scoring. Thankfully the reds began to settle in midfield as well as at the back, with Bruno Cheyrou - also making his full debut - showing some nice touches operating behind the tireless Baros. Efforts from Murphy, Gerrard and a great chance for Emile Heskey - whose first goalscorer odds were probably Henchoz-esque before today's game - failed to result in the opening goal.
Falling in between those chances came a hilarious moment as deadbeat Dean Holdsworth performed a piece of stand up comedy that would have made Eddie Murphy proud. As Gardner easily skipped past Diao his pull-back found Deano whose lash at thin-air was really something to behold. Poor Dean has really began to pile on the pounds as of late, coupling that with his Zidane-like bald patch, suggests that his days of modelling for Topman and banging page 3 models on the bonnets of BMW's are well and truly over. Come on Dean! Surely it’s better to burn out than to fade away?
The best chance of the opening half fell to Baros, who when put through on goal by Hamann's pass agonisingly smashed his shot into the foot of the post, with Cheyrou begging for a cut-back. Cheyrou himself would experience a similar fate to Baros as the white-booted Frenchman saw his shot saved well by Jaaskelainen.
The two combined in first half stoppage time to finally give the Liverpool the lead their endeavours had just about deserved. A clever dummy from Bruno left Baros with plenty to do, but in almost one movement, he had expertly moved the ball clear and smashed the ball into the roof of the net. What a strike and what a way to open your Liverpool account.
The prelude to the second-half saw a massive scare for many of those in attendance, as a giant overweight Cocker Spaniel replaced Mike Whitlow. I'm not sure what's in the water up there in plazzymancland but they actually cheered this monstrosity whilst most of those in the away end simply cowered in their seats asking for there mummy's.
The relief was indescribable as the Wanderers PA system announced that this was actually former Real Madrid defender Ivan Campo.
One of the Spaniards first acts in a white Bolton shirt - which, I must say is slightly less glamorous than the Real incarnation - was to get Milan Baros cautioned for a nothing incident early in the second period. Horrible, greasy haired fat git.
Bolton's equaliser really came totally out of the blue as a mix up between Diao and Hyypia which seemed to be caused more by the former than the latter saw the dangerous Ricardo Gardener slot past Dudek. Cue the ridiculous goalscoring music which blared out of the speakers, which personifies the small time nature of clubs like Blackburn, Bolton and the like. I certainly didn't "feel good" anyway.
This was a nightmare; the frenzy caused by another couple of points dropped from a winning position would have been unbearable. Still unlike in the other three games there was still plenty of time to rectify the situation and despite Liverpool's midfield becoming less effective as the game continued, we still looked more likely to regain the lead.
On 71 minutes, a textbook Gerrard cross beat Campo's attempt to clear as his doggy ears/hair seemed to get in the way of his attempted header and fell to Baros, who's instinctive volleyed finish restored our lead. In a different way it was just as good a finish as his first, with the control displayed magnificent. Milan certainly looked happy with it.
As the clock ticked down, thoughts of Newcastle and Birmingham began to creep back into the memory and as Diao conceded a corner with just two minutes to go visions of Alan Shearer and Clinton Morrison wheeling away in celebration, were forced back by the knowledge that surely this could not happen again?
Well as Ivan Campo's close range shot nestled in the roof of the net, moral couldn't have been lower. Any thoughts of championship glory ended at that very moment. An ugly Spaniard had ruined our best chance of bringing the title home for 10 years. But maybe there is a god? Because the pure unadulterated bedlam which ensued in the away end following Heskey's wonderful instinctive finish had me thanking the heavens totally overcome by a mixture of joy and relief.
That's what I love about away games, the total exhilarated feeling that you get after a goal (and especially a last minute winner!) is so much more intense than it is at Anfield.
So the three points finally taken from this game may prove to be the most important of the season, but the performance a certain Milan Baros will also live long in the memory as he shoved the early words of criticism down our throats and thrust himself onto the premiership scene with aplomb.
TEAM: Jerzy Dudek; Jamie Carragher, Salif Diao, Sami Hyypia, Djimi Traore; Danny Murphy, Steven Gerrard, Didi Hamann, Emile Heskey: Bruno Cheyrou (John Arne Riise), Milan Baros:
