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Raheem Sterling's effort, five minutes from time, was yet to hit the net when Liverpool FC vice-captain Jordan Henderson began sprinting in the opposite direction.

Sterling received the adulation, and rightfully so - his goal was taken wonderfully, and took Liverpool closer to FA Cup redemption against Bolton.

But 30 yards away, Henderson had stopped his run and he was motioning, over and over, to Emre Can. Point made, point proven.

A fine bit of leadership from Henderson, but an even finer reason to make the gesture: Can, having threatened to do so for most of the second half, had finally swung the game back towards Liverpool.

It had been a remarkable second half performance to follow his usual, solid defensive display in the opening 45 minutes. Here strode a midfielder who has found his niche in Liverpool's three man defence, stepping into midfield once more and delivering a pin-point ball onto the left boot of Sterling.

He had forged forward earlier, striking the woodwork with a fearsome drive, stinging fingertips en route. Brendan Rodgers would later reveal Can had been told to push into midfield, but he needed no invitation anyway. He had already been doing it from defence.

In the defensive three, he is good enough to deal with balls down the channel; he has also, at times, been shifted as the middle man in the three, with the design of contesting balls in the air.

The only player to give him a tough time, so far, is Eden Hazard. There are potential worries about how he would fare against a higher calibre of opponent – but, at the very least, he's cemented his place in the side and earned the opportunity to show that against Everton and Spurs.

In a side that was thought needed character, Can struck down that notion with every sally up the field against Bolton, like the world's largest, strongest wind-up toy. A lack of leaders is no longer a common complaint of this Liverpool side.

Can has, in many ways, become the embodiment of this new Liverpool team.

Bought in the summer and written off before the winter, he has now found his role at Anfield in a manner few expected - the driving midfielder, first thought to be one of the two advanced in the central three, is now a centre back.

It is redefinition and reinvention – something Rodgers had to do in December to recover what his side had captured last season, and something Can has undergone.

His ascension coinciding with Liverpool's is no coincidence. He is powerful on and off the ball and that is accompanied with a remarkable desire to win; the comeback against Bolton was of the visceral sort, one which needed a moment from the depths of parts unknown, to change the course of the game.

Onwards he drove, looking to do something from a deep position. Woodwork had been struck, balls had trickled that inch too near or too far – but when it appeared the charge had run out of steam, in stepped Can.

It was, dare it be said, something Steven Gerrard has done for over 15 years.

Comparisons – unfair ones, at that - can wait for now. He is not at that level, and it would take something special for him to reach it, making the £10m spent on him an absolute steal.

Still, Can is making a name for himself all on his own - and what a name it is proving to be, nominative determinism at its finest.

Raheem is worth plenty of sterling, but Emre simply can – no matter where he is on the field.

IN PICTURES: Liverpool beat Bolton to reach FA Cup fifth round