Houllier: Owen's best is yet to come

Owen showed young prodigy Wayne Rooney that he still has much improvement to make before he can claim the crown of top Merseyside marksman with a clinical brace during the emphatic 3-0 success at Goodison Park that left Houllier full of praise for his star striker.

"Winning today wipes everything off the slate. And in big games, big players always show big. Michael scored two and made the third - not a bad performance," enthused Houllier.

"Michael is only 23 so he will get better with time. Take the age of Thierry Henry or Ruud Van Nistelrooy. In two or three years time he will be even better. He's nowhere near his peak yet."