Substitute Anelka fires winner to provide boost for under-fire Bolton boss

NICOLAS ANELKA stepped off the substitutes’ bench to fire a 68th-minute winner and send Bolton into the UEFA Cup group stages, giving under-fire boss Sammy Lee some welcome respite.

Lee made seven changes for a match he simply could not afford to lose in the wake of the Trotters’ woeful start to their Barclays Premier League campaign.

With Sunday’s crunch visit of Chelsea in mind, key players such as Gary Speed and Kevin Nolan, Ricardo Gardner were rested while influential strike duo Anelka and El-Hadji Diouf started on the bench.