Steven Gerrard challenged Liver-pool to aim for the top two after a 3-0 New Year's Day victory over Bolton at Anfield lifted Rafa Benitez's team into third spot in the Premiership.
Monday's win, which came courtesy of second-half goals from Peter Crouch, Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt, left Liverpool just seven points behind faltering second-placed champions Chelsea.
And although top two Manchester United and Chelsea have appeared out of touch so far this term, skipper Gerrard admits Liverpool must continue to chase them down.
Gerrard said: "It was unfortunate to lose at Blackburn last week because we have been on a good run, but we just have to keep going and hope to close the gap on the top two as much as possible."
"This was three goals, a clean sheet and a really good win against a very difficult team to beat, so it's a great start to the New Year for us," he said.
"It was a great team performance, but Jermaine Pennant deserves a special mention. He has had his critics this year, but he was fantastic for us today," Gerrard said.
Liverpool boss Benitez had warned his team they faced a physical battle against Sam Allardyce's outfit, but after a dour first-half, the home side came good.
Benitez said: "We were waiting for a physical game and the first half was difficult, but we scored the goals in the second half and that opened the game up for us."
"Bolton are a good team, they have their style and it has been working for them. It is clear that it is direct and physical and all managers say the same, but we had a physical second-half at Tottenham at the weekend and the concentration of the players today was fantastic," he said.
"We talked about having to keep going and keep passing to make our chances. The reason we brought in [Mark] Gonzalez, Pennant and Crouch was for fresh legs because we knew that the players were tired, but the quality of our players on the ball in the second half made it easier for us," Benitez said.
RSS