Bolton Wanderers vs. Liverpool: Score, Grades and Reaction from 2014/15 FA Cup
Steven Gerrard's fairytale ending is still alive after a thrilling Liverpool fightback at Bolton.
Liverpool scored twice in the final four minutes to beat Bolton and advance to the last 16 of the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory in a fourth-round replay at the Macron Stadium on Wednesday night.
The same two teams played out a scoreless draw last month at Anfield, and neither team found the net in the first half of the replay. But the match came to life in the second half as Bolton took the lead via a controversial penalty before Liverpool stormed back to rescue a victory.
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Eidur Gudjohnsen converted from the penalty spot in the 59th minute to put Bolton ahead, but the Championship side went down to 10 men seven minutes later as Neil Danns saw red for his second bookable offence.
Liverpool piled on the pressure as they searched for an equaliser, which finally arrived in the 86th minute via Raheem Sterling. From there, the second goal seemed inevitable, and Philippe Coutinho obliged with an excellent curler in the first minute of stoppage time.
With the victory, Liverpool advanced to play at Crystal Palace on Feb. 14 in an all-Premier League fifth-round tie. Perhaps just as importantly, Gerrard's fairytale ending is still a possibility.
Gerrard, who is set to depart Liverpool for Major League Soccer at the end of the season, can go out with an especially memorable bit of silverware if the Reds continue to advance in the FA Cup. The final is set for May 30, which happens to be Gerrard's birthday—meaning the longtime captain could lift the cup in his final appearance for the club.
The stakes are also high for Liverpool as a whole. Having crashed out of the Capital One Cup at the semi-final stage last week, the last thing the Reds wanted was another cup exit. But after Wednesday's comeback win, Brendan Rodgers' side remain alive in the hunt for trophies on two fronts—the FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League.
Up next, Liverpool will try to keep up their momentum in the Premier League as they chase a top-four finish. The Reds face a trip to rivals Everton for the Merseyside derby on Saturday.
Having barely missed out on a famous upset win, Bolton will turn their attention back to the Championship. Currently 14th in English football's second tier, Neil Lennon's side play at second-placed Derby County on Saturday.
The first chance of the night fell to Liverpool in the seventh minute. Sterling and Adam Lallana traded passes before Lallana slid the ball across to Steven Gerrard on the right. Gerrard hit a low, first-time shot on target but straight at Andy Lonergan, who saved.
Lonergan saved again seven minutes later, stopping Sterling's scuffed shot after the Liverpool man created space in the box for himself with impressive close control.
Bolton's Gudjohnsen ballooned a shot well over the bar in the 16th minute after being set up by a Josh Vela cross. The hosts had another opening four minutes later as Liam Feeney rose highest to meet a free-kick with a header that Simon Mignolet saved.
The best chance of the first half came in the 31st minute. Lallana created space with a fine turn inside the Bolton box before slotting a pass to Sterling. With the defender standing off, Sterling had time to curl a shot toward the top corner. Lonergan was beaten, but the ball hit the post and bounced away.
Just before half-time, Coutinho curled a shot narrowly wide of the far post.
After the interval, Sterling drew another save from Lonergan in the 53rd minute with a curling effort from the left.
Liverpool had created the better chances to that point, but the match took a dramatic turn just before the hour mark as Bolton won a penalty.
Zach Clough danced past Martin Skrtel in the box and crumpled to the pitch after Skrtel stuck out his leg to challenge. Replays suggested there was minimal contact if any, but referee Roger East pointed to the spot.
Bleacher Report's Matt Jones felt Clough was guilty of a dive, as he noted via Twitter:
One minute later, Gudjohnsen stroked in the penalty confidently to give Bolton a 1-0 lead.
Bolton were clearly boosted by the goal, but the hosts received bad news in the 66th minute as Neil Danns was sent off for his second bookable offence after scything down Joe Allen.
The hosts came close again in the 71st minute, Gudjohnsen having a header saved from close range following a Liam Feeney cross.
From there, however, it was one-way traffic as Liverpool laid siege to Bolton's box.
In the 75th minute, Emre Can had a shot deflected wide moments before Jordan Henderson saw another shot deflected onto the post.
Henderson sliced a shot narrowly off target in the 81st minute, and Lonergan tipped Can's high drive onto the bar two minutes later.
The equaliser was coming, and Sterling delivered it in the 86th minute. Can set up the strike with a perfectly weighted chip over the defence, setting up Sterling for a golden chance. Keeping his composure, Sterling volleyed through Lonergan's legs to make it 1-1.
Liverpool kept attacking, and in the first minute of stoppage time, they were rewarded with the winner. It was another goal of the highest calibre, Coutinho curling a beautiful effort in off the underside of the crossbar to send Liverpool back home with a hard-fought victory.
Grades
| Andy Lonergan | 7.6 |
| David Wheater | 6.8 |
| Dorian Dervite | 7.3 |
| Tim Ream | 7.1 |
| Liam Feeney | 7.2 |
| Josh Vela | 6.6 |
| Neil Danns | 6.5 |
| Dean Moxey | 6.8 |
| Eidur Gudjohnsen | 6.8 |
| Matt Mills | 7.5 |
| Zach Clough | 7.3 |
| Liam Trotter (for Clough, 72') | 5.9 |
| Simon Mignolet | 6.9 |
| Emre Can | 7.9 |
| Martin Skrtel | 6.6 |
| Mamadou Sakho | 6.6 |
| Lazar Markovic | 6.4 |
| Steven Gerrard | 7.1 |
| Joe Allen | 6.5 |
| Alberto Moreno | 6.3 |
| Adam Lallana | 6.5 |
| Philippe Coutinho | 8.3 |
| Raheem Sterling | 8.2 |
| Jordan Henderson (for Lallana, 54') | 7.0 |
| Fabio Borini (for Markovic, 65') | 7.2 |
| Daniel Sturridge (for Allen, 70') | 6.2 |
Reaction
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers (via BBC Sport):
"It was always going to be a tough game. Neil Lennon's done a brilliant job at Bolton. Going 1-0 behind away from home put us on the back foot. I think you can see on the replay it was nowhere near a penalty. We must have hit the bar about five or six times but eventually the quality came through.
You have to keep your patience and keep the width in the game, especially against 10 men. It was a great pass by Emre Can for the first goal and a great finish, and a wonderful finish for the second goal (from Philippe Coutinho).
This is a competition we want to do well in and thankfully we're into the next round against Crystal Palace.
"
Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling (via BBC Sport):
"We had a few chances to put the game away but we didn't take it. It was a great team effort to stick in the game and get the win in the end.
When we went 1-0 down and hit the post three times it didn't look like our day but we got there in the end. Philippe Coutinho has the magic to turn the game on its head and we saw that again.
"
