FA PREMIERSHIP/Manchester City ... 0 Liverpool ... 3: There was a warm hug from Gerard Houllier and even a slapped high-five with the seething Kevin Keegan before Michael Owen's glow was rudely dulled by being asked to pee in a cup. Relief in front of goal had taken a demoralising 12 hours and 20 minutes; the post-match drug test took appreciably less time.
Having secured an eighth Liverpool hat-trick ball to swell his collection, Owen is back to his searing best with the malaise that had stunted his season to date clinically exorcised, perhaps inevitably, at Keegan's and Manchester City's expense.
In the end, the wide open spaces of Maine Road proved too tempting, the glaring deficiencies of the home defence too gaping. Where there had been one goal in five league games, now there are four in six and Owen's drought has become a glut.
"I'm not relieved as such because it was never a question of whether I'd score, just when," said the 22-year-old who, despite the nine-match stretch without a goal in open play, has still scored a phenomenal 30 in his last 40 Premiership appearances. "My self-confidence was always intact, and I was still scoring in training so I never felt the need to work harder on my finishing.
"When you're struggling in front of goal it's tempting to analyse everything and tinker with technique, but that's the worst way of dealing with it. But I was lucky enough to be surrounded by people who had faith in me. They reassured me that I'd get out of this rut very quickly. I never doubted that I'd score."
To that end, City were key to getting Owen up and running. The England striker's sharp turn and close-range finish in the fourth minute was the culmination of a quick-fire, one-touch passing exchange, though the build-up was more slapstick than slick. Danny Murphy's corner by-passed Marc-Vivien Foe and Steve Howey, ricocheted from Kevin Horlock to Niclas Jensen whose belted attempt at a clearance cannoned from Howey to Owen.
Bemused visiting players watched the comedy unfold, though few in blue mustered a smile. "People say we are a good team, but we could be a good team that's not good enough for the Premiership," grumbled Keegan, whose side missed too many presentable chances for comfort and, the performances of Nicolas Anelka and Shaun Wright-Phillips aside, had little to look back on with pride.
Man City's forward-thinking approach too often left acres behind advanced defenders into which Owen gleefully tore - at one stage a trio of visiting forwards outnumbered defenders.
The Chinese defender Sun Jihai is no slouch, but he foundered in Owen's vapour trail after Sylvain Distin had played the striker onside; the forward then teased and tormented Sun before pummelling a late third in off the post.
"It's a good job for England, too," smiled Houllier. "He just had to keep his head up. It's simple man management. He may be the European footballer of the year, but all footballers are alike and need the manager when they are going through crises of confidence.
"Michael got a lot of stick after missing a couple of chances in our Champions League quarter-final in Bayer Leverkusen last season, but I told him he'd saved us so many times in the past. This morning, with only one loss in 25 league games, Liverpool sit two points behind the appaleaders Arsenal.
MAN CITY: Schmeichel, Jihai, Howey (Shuker 70), Distin, Wright-Phillips, Berkovic, Foe, Horlock, Jensen, Anelka, Huckerby (Goater 61). Subs Not Used: Nash, Mettomo, Kerkar.
LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Riise, Murphy, Gerrard (Diao 90), Hamann, Heskey, Baros (Diouf 59), Owen. Subs Not Used: Berger, Kirkland, Cheyrou. Goals: Owen 4, 64, 89.
Referee: P Durkin (Dorset)
