Owen hat-trick keeps Euro hopes alive

Spartak Moscow 1 Liverpool 3

Spartak Moscow 1 Liverpool 3

Michael Owen scored a hat trick as Liverpool came from behind to defeat Spartak Moscow in Russia this evening.

The diminutive marksman got off the mark with a perfectly executed glancing header from Jamie Carragher's cross after Alexander Danishevsky had given the hosts the lead.

Owen struck again with 20 minutes to go after a goal mouth scramble that saw Sami Hyypia hit the crossbar from a Danny Murphy free kick.

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Hyypia managed to get his head to the rebound and after a spate off goalmouth pinball Owen gratefully stroked it home from three yards.

Spartak pushed forward in search of a point but in doing so left space for Liverpool.

Danny Murphy gratefully exploited that room when he nipped inside the full back and neatly squared it for Owen who did the honours to seal the points and secure Liverpool's place in history as the first ever English side to win away at Spartak Moscow.