Owen rescue act saves Liverpool

Houllier's side carried on in the same slapdash way as they left off in Saturday's 3-1 defeat by Aston Villa. A long ball into the area from goalkeeper Ricardo should have been a routine matter for Sami Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz.

But the presence of Alexandre Goulart was enough to unnerve Liverpool's two centre backs, who failed to clear the danger and saw the ball drop invitingly at the feet of Silva. Although Jerzy Dudek got an outstretched hand to the Brazilian front-runner's 12-yard half-volley, he could not stop Portugal's champions taking a stunning lead.

Liverpool looked edgy but went agonisingly close to an equaliser with a trademark Gary McAllister free kick in the fifth minute. McAllister, switched to the left flank to make room for Steven Gerrard's return to central midfield, whipped the ball around the wall with pace and accuracy but was denied by a flying, fingertip save from Ricardo.

McAllister's expertise from set pieces has proved a potent weapon down the years and almost paid dividends again in the 19th minute. Hyypia's glancing header from the veteran midfielder's pinpoint delivery beat Ricardo but drifted just wide.

Seconds later, it needed an exceptional save from Dudek to avoid the calamity of a second Boavista goal.

Once more, Liverpool's height at the back counted for nothing as they lost out in the air again and were so nearly punished. Alexandre's delicate header from Petit's cross was heading for the bottom corner until the diving Dudek touched it round the post.

However, the entire complexion of the game changed in the 29th minute when Owen collected his 11th goal of the season. Gerrard skipped past a lunging challenge in the centre circle with imperious ease before sliding a pass through to Emile Heskey.

Spotting Owen in space, Heskey beat the offside trap with a perfectlyweighted ball, then sat back to await the inevitable outcome of a oneonone involving the in-form England striker. Owen did not disappoint, either, as he drew Ricardo before curling a shot into the top corner.

Gerrard also looks capable of anything in his current mood and he was inches from firing Liverpool in front from fully 40 yards in the 42nd minute.

Ricardo scrambled across his line and was relieved to see the England midfielder's long-range special flash past the post.

Containment was becoming the key word for the Portuguese side, yet they almost sprang a surprise following a mistake by Gregory Vignal in the 55th minute. The young Liverpool left back dithered on the ball 30 yards out and allowed Duda to catch him in possession. The Boavista striker traded passes with Silva before hitting a low drive wide of the far post.

Liverpool were moving forward with more purpose though with Gerrard, in particular, exerting a greater authority.

Indeed the 21-year-old could count himself unlucky with a fiercely-struck 30-yard free kick on the hour that was only fractionally off target.

A series of blatant dives by Boavista players infuriated the Liverpool camp not least assistant manager Phil Thompson, who had a running verbal battle with the visiting bench.

However, Pacheco responded to questions about his players writhing in agony, only to recover miraculously within seconds, by saying: 'We Portuguese are descendants of great warriors. We are little but we are firm.'