Taciturn by nature, Rafael Benítez has frequently allowed his words to speak louder than his players' actions when Bolton Wanderers have loomed into view and so he was relieved that his Liverpool team walked the walk as they overcame his least favourite opponents at Anfield yesterday.
The Times
Penny finally drops for Liverpool
Rafael Benitez tweaked the tiger's tail and suffered a bite in return when he criticised Bolton's "physical and direct" tactics before his Liverpool side's 2-0 defeat at the Reebok last September.
Daily Telegraph
Benitez takes fight to Bolton and finally lays hoodoo to rest
Buried deep in Rafael Benítez's programme notes for this fixture was a warning Bolton did not heed. The Spaniard's pre-match observations had already touched upon the fact that visiting sides seek to contain here, and now he wrote: "We are prepared to fight first and then play our football."
The Guardian
Pennant wings it as Reds outflank Allardyce
What had threatened to turn into an embarrassing start to the new year for Rafael Benitez evolved instead as a satisfyingly emphatic victory for the Liverpool manager over an opponent with whom he has developed something of a fixation.
The Independent