“Liverpool, top of the league,” their supporters sang as the third goal went in yesterday, as the realisation dawned that not since 1996 have the club led the Premier League at the halfway stage. It was the first time this season that such a chant has reverberated around Anfield and it was telling, but it is not only the fans who are starting to believe that this could be the season when Liverpool end their 19-year wait for the title.

Robbie Keane is growing in conviction, too, but while it may be impossible to quantify the importance of the past week to the Ireland striker until later in the campaign, the signs are that Rafael Benítez’s £20.3 million recruit is coming good at the right time.

Speculation has been rife that Keane may be offloaded next month, possibly back to Tottenham Hotspur, his former club, but the forward will surely have nipped those rumours in the bud with three goals in his past two games, almost as many as he managed during his first four months at the club.

If an emphatic strike during the 1-1 draw away to Arsenal five days earlier exorcised a few demons, two equally well-taken goals against Bolton Wanderers will have convinced him that he can be the missing piece of the Liverpool jigsaw. “We have never had any doubts about Robbie’s ability,” Sammy Lee, the Liverpool assistant manager, said. “His commitment to the club and what he adds is immense.”

Not everyone would agree with that assessment, but as encouraging as Keane’s contribution was, this was less about individuals than a team rediscovering the winning touch. This was Liverpool’s first win at Anfield in the league since November 8 after three successive home draws, but Bolton never appeared to believe that they could frustrate their hosts in the manner that Fulham, West Ham United and Hull City had.

The lack of cutting edge that has haunted Liverpool of late gave way to a killer instinct yesterday, even if the performance had to be weighed against the limitations of Bolton, who imploded in the space of five minutes at the start of the second half.

Despite trailing 1-0 at the interval to Albert Riera’s near-post volley from Steven Gerrard’s corner, Gary Megson’s team had not looked in too much trouble, with Liverpool struggling to create any clear-cut openings.

In pursuit of a little more penetration, however, Megson switched from a defensive-minded 4-1-4-1 system to 4-4-2 at the break, with Kevin Davies — a replacement for Jlloyd Samuel, who had failed to track Riera — partnering Johan Elmander in attack. It was a decision that backfired spectacularly.

“As a manager and staff we decided to change it and I think you saw why we didn’t go 4-4-2 from the off,” Megson said. “They went through us like a knife through butter at times.”

The second goal was always going to be crucial, but while Liverpool supporters will rightly marvel at the manner in which it was dispatched, Megson must have been wondering how a bit of tinkering could do such harm to a midfield that had been disciplined and organised for long periods during the first 45 minutes.

Gerrard had been relatively well marshalled by Fabrice Muamba and Co, but when the imperious Xabi Alonso won a 50-50 tackle in the centre circle, the ball fell to the Liverpool captain, who found himself unmarked and in acres of space, enabling him to dart forward and pick out Keane.

It was a peach of a pass, Keane running in the channel left by two defenders to latch on to the ball and thunder a left-foot shot into the top corner, but it was still negligent that a player of Gerrard’s class should be given so much time.

As cheap a goal as it was to concede, though, the defending for Liverpool’s third was worse.

Again, the home side exploited the space beautifully, José Manuel Reina rolling the ball out to Alonso, who ghosted forward and clipped the ball to Yossi Benayoun down the right flank, leaving the Israel midfield player to stroke a first-time ball into the path of Keane. He finished with aplomb, but the simplicity of the goal said everything about Bolton’s failings. How, for example, could Alonso, who overshadowed Keane as the game’s outstanding performer, be allowed to drift unchecked for 40 yards?

Still, the more Alonso performs like this, the more Benítez must be relieved that he did not sell the Spain midfield player, even if yesterday was more about a player the manager was able to snare and the impact he appears to be having on a team who are beginning to believe.

Liverpool 4-2-3-1: J M Reina 6 J Carragher 7 S Hyypia 6 D Agger 6 E Insua 6 S Gerrard 6 X Alonso 8 Y Benayoun 6 R Keane 7 A Riera 7 D Kuyt 6 Substitutes Lucas Leiva (for Gerrad, 73min), N El Zhar 5 (for Reira, 69), D Ngog (for Kuyt, 77). Not used D Cavalieri, R Babel, J Mascherano, S Darby.

Bolton Wanderers 4-1-4-1: J Jaaskelainen 6 G Steinsson 5 G Cahill 6 A O’Brien 6 J Samuel 4 F Muamba 5 M Taylor 6 K Nolan 5 G McCann 6 R Gardner 6 J Elmander 5 Substitutes K Davies (for Samuel, 46min), M Riga (for Taylor, 67), E Smolarek (for Elmander, 67). Not used A Al Habsi, D Shittu, C Basham, T Obadeyi.

Att: 43.548.
Referee: A Wiley.

Star man: Xabi Alonso
The Spain midfield player was at the hub of everything good Liverpool did and was pinpoint in his passing. How could Rafael Benítez have countenanced selling the Spaniard last summer?

Window watch
Rafael Benítez is likely to have to sell before he can buy. The Liverpool manager was dismayed that the move to Real Madrid of Jermaine Pennant, left, fell through this week, but hopes he can offload the winger. Andrea Dossena, the left back who has struggled to make an impact since joining Liverpool in the summer, may also leave, as could Yossi Benayoun.