
When those thousands of misty eyes on Merseyside still lamenting the loss of Robbie Fowler have cleared, the pleasing vision awaits of Liverpool six points to the good at the top of the Premiership.
Mark Crossley is carried off at Anfield
(MichaelSteele/Allsport)
Indeed, who more fitting to wipe away the tears than the remarkable Michael Owen?
There will be, no doubt, a residue of Fowler fanatics who will forever resist the notion. But the emphatic declaration from Anfield yesterday cannot be ignored. The king is dead, long live the king.
And that king is Owen - idolised by England, feared by the rest of the world but, in a dwindling corner of Liverpool, still second fiddle in the interrupted rhapsody of Robbie.
With Fowler departed on an £11million secondment to the Leeds United championship cause, Owen laid a further irrefutable claim to the Anfield throne with his 25th goal in his last 22 games for Liverpool.
It is an astonishing return by any standards and the sheer magnificence of the strike, which fractured the stout resistance of Middlesbrough, might be the highlight of the remarkable collection.
A touch from Patrik Berger was sufficient to create the time and space for Owen to rifle, from 25 yards, an unstoppable effort far beyond the reach of replacement goalkeeper Marlon Beresford in the 27th minute.
For a moment, Boro manager Steve McClaren probably did not know whether to laugh or cry. With his England hat on he would have been as ecstatic as the rest of a huge Anfield crowd rejoicing at what Owen does best. But as architect of the recent Boro revival, McClaren must have been aware his best-laid plans were in tatters.
Boro, previously unbeaten in four games after a sticky beginning to McClaren's first stint as a manager, had clearly schemed to soak up the inevitable Anfield pressure before striking on the break.
Theory and practice can often be impossible to combine, especially against this reconstructed and rejuvenated Liverpool, who play the pressure game in all areas of the field.
Boro discovered it was impossible to break out of their own besieged backyard because Liverpool's midfield unit of Danny Murphy, Gary McAllister and Dietmar Hamann persisted in hustling and bustling at their gate.
Even after Owen blasted through, Liverpool remained hell-bent on exploiting further their advantage.
And, when Boro's Franck Queudrue carelessly dropped the latch three minutes into first-half stoppage-time, Liverpool came barging through again. Jari Litmanen sought out Berger, who finished as explosively as Owen.
It had been hardly to the advantage of Boro when goalkeeper Mark Crossley was carried off after brave resistance at the feet of McAllister. But even if Beresford had been able to join Crossley and regular first-choice goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, it is unlikely the entire trio could have denied Owen and Berger, such was the ferocity of their efforts.
McClaren made a couple of changes at the break, Hamilton Ricard and Mark Wilson replacing Szilard Nemeth and Allan Johnston, but the pattern remained the same.
Alen Boksic did provide an uplifting moment a couple of minutes into the second period with a biting shot, towards the Liverpool near post, which was excellently rebuffed by Jerzy Dudek.
There was even the unusual sight of Owen spooning high and wide an opportunity provided for him by the astute McAllister.
Bookings for Queudrue and Colin Cooper betrayed the need for more expert resistance from Boro.
The eventual result was never in doubt, however, providing care-taker-manager Phil Thompson with his 11th Premiership game unbeaten since being ushered into the front line following the incapacity of Gerard Houllier.
The Anfield roar in response to the information that Manchester United had tumbled again at Old Trafford was almost as deafening as the response to the latest strike from Owen.
Six points clear at the top is one thing, 11 points in front of United even more encouraging to Liverpool ambitions of a first championship success in 11 years.
