A slice of luck, a helping hand, a kick up the backside. All three played some part yesterday in Liverpool’s first away victory since Boxing Day, but this was also one of those afternoons, all too rare for the Merseyside club this season, when class told. It might have taken a freakish own goal from Jussi Jaaskelainen to put them on the road to victory, but, by the end, they looked like a team who had finally been roused out of hibernation by Steven Gerrard’s desperate call to arms.

A winter of discontent drags on in the Anfield boardroom, but here, against a struggling Bolton Wanderers team, Liverpool showed the focus that is needed if they are to beat Everton to fourth place in the Barclays Premier League. That, according to Gerrard, is “the least that is acceptable” for a club of Liverpool’s size and ambition and, after the final whistle yesterday, he defended his outburst by saying that “it is sometimes needed”, as captain, to say things that people do not like to hear.

Gerrard would admit that he is among those who have fallen short at times this term, but here, thriving in the wide open spaces of the Reebok Stadium, he thoroughly enjoyed himself. He did not get on the scoresheet – not unless the Premier League’s Dubious Goals Panel choose to spare the embarrassment of Jaaskelainen, whose 12th-minute blunder was among the most cringeworthy goalkeeping errors of this or any other season – but he will look back fondly on this fixture, as will Ryan Babel, who enjoyed perhaps his most productive outing in the league, Fábio Aurélio, who scored his first goal in 46 appearances for Liverpool, and Javier Mascherano, who marked his permanent transfer to the club with a characteristic show of industry in midfield.

It could, as Gary Megson, the Bolton manager, reflected, have been quite different. Bolton made a lively start, threatening from set-pieces even though Rafael BenÍtez had tried to guard against that by deploying the towering Martin Skrtel alongside Sami Hyypia in central defence. From a succession of dead-ball kicks, El-Hadji Diouf’s inswinging cross eluded everyone and bounced on to the crossbar, Gerrard cleared off the line from Joey O’Brien and Gary Cahill had a header blocked by Skrtel. Between times, José Manuel Reina, the Liverpool goalkeeper, made a superb one-handed save to keep out a Kevin Davies header.

For all that, Liverpool were by far the stronger team, particularly once Jaaskelainen had endured his slap-stick moment. The Bolton goalkeeper could simply have left Gerrard’s speculative shot to hit the side-netting, but, as he dived low to his right, the ball bounced up off his face and took the most unlikely of diversions over his goalline. As he picked himself up, Jaaskelainen was red-faced in more ways than one, but, as Megson said afterwards: “The lad is a great goalkeeper and he made two fantastic saves afterwards to make up for it.”

He did indeed, diving to his right to keep out two fierce efforts from the increasingly dangerous Babel, but the goal took the wind out of Bolton’s sails. By now Liverpool were playing primarily on the counter-attack, with Gerrard and Xabi Alonso eager to release Babel and Fernando Torres at every opportunity.

Babel has flattered to deceive for much of this season, but he tormented Gretar Steinsson, who would soon depart with a thigh strain, and Joey O’Brien before claiming a deserved goal on the hour, beating Jaaskelainen at the near post after a shot by Dirk Kuyt came back off the post.

Aurélio made it 3-0 with 15 minutes remaining, a sweet left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area after Alonso’s corner was half-cleared, and it was quickly becoming a perfect afternoon for Liverpool. Events at Goodison Park would later dictate otherwise, but Bolton’s goal, a thumping header from Tamir Cohen from Matt Taylor’s corner, was chiefly of a trivial interest, coming against the team with whom the Israeli’s father, Avi, won a championship medal in 1980. That was a reminder of happier times for Liverpool, but so, too, for the odd moment yesterday, was their performance, even if it is Jaaskelainen’s error that will live longest in the memory.

Bolton (4-1-4-1): J Jaaskelainen 5 G Steinsson 4 A O’Brien 6 G Cahill 7 R Gardner 6 I Campo 5 E-H Diouf 5 J O’Brien 5 K Nolan 6 M Taylor 5 K Davies Y 6 Substitutes: G Rasiak Y 4 (for Steinsson, 42min), T Cohen 6 (for Nolan, 46). Not used: A Al-Habsi, A Méïté, S Giannakopoulos. Next: Wigan Athletic (a).

Liverpool (4-2-3-1): J M Reina 7 J Carragher 6 M Skrtel 7 S Hyypia Y 7 F Aurélio 7 X Alonso 7 J Mascherano 8 D Kuyt 6 S Gerrard 7 R Babel 7 F Torres 6 Substitutes: J A Riise (for Torres, 78), Á Arbeloa (for Kuyt, 86). Not used: D Martin, Y Benayoun, P Crouch. Next: West Ham United (h).