During the bleak winter months, in league and League Cup encounters, bones were broken, egos bruised and a few twisted words uttered by the respective management teams as the sides slogged away at one another.
Even so, the result, Liverpool’s best of the season and only the third time they have scored four this campaign (another occasion was against Blackburn, coincidentally) scarcely reflected their superiority.
Graeme Souness, the Blackburn manager, must be concerned at the nature of this capitulation. If his players cannot shake off their lethargy — few appeared to have the stomach for the fight — then relegation surely awaits. So how galling for Souness that his team should be so lacklustre on the ground where, as a player, his powers of resilience and dogged determination were always to the fore.
Those virtues were conspicuous by their absence yesterday although nothing should detract from a refreshing Liverpool performance that was every bit as fluent and convincing as the margin of victory suggests.
“We were properly bashed up by a very good side on the day,” Souness said. “We have played all the top teams but have not been beaten like that. They were excellent. Our plan was to try and frustrate them but the game was over after the second and third goals. We have seven games to go and we may need to win three of them. There is no hiding from that. It is time for my players to stand up and be counted.”
Earlier this week, Gérard Houllier had cited five home matches, out of the remaining eight games, that were pivotal to Liverpool snatching fourth position in the Barclaycard Premiership. This could not have been a more pleasing start to that quintet for the Frenchman.
“We have had to take some garbage and take a lot of stick and this has affected the players,” Houllier said, turning on his critics. “But I was proud of them. The spirit is still there.”
Owen, whose pace and movement were so patently missing in the drab draw with Leicester City last week, swiftly set about loosening his hamstring and a sloppy and bewildered Blackburn back four.
Alongside him he had Heskey in something resembling his best form, signalled when the cruiserweight forward controlled instantly an over-hit pass from Harry Kewell in the seventh minute. His next instinct was to run at the heart of the defence and thus create confusion before releasing Owen, who struck an efficient right-foot shot beyond Brad Friedel, who was unable to prevent Owen’s fifteenth goal of the season despite getting a touch on the ball.
The England forward then spurned another glorious chance and the impeccable Steven Gerrard, energetic and imaginative in equal measure, screwed wide from a narrow angle as Liverpool attacked in relentless waves. El-Hadji Diouf outwitted two defenders on the right before Todd was forced to deflect his cross into the net in the 22nd minute. Shortly after, Owen ran on to Diouf’s pass and this time he found the target with a delicious volley to make it 3-0.
Game over, although Heskey, profiting from good work by Kewell and Milan Baros, blasted a fourth in the 79th minute.
If anything, the scoreline flattered the visiting team. John Arne Riise, Danny Murphy and finally Baros were profligate when left with “sitters“ in the second half and a clutch of half-chances also went astray.
Souness agreed with that verdict and obviously the operator of the electric scoreboard operator concurred, toying with his audience by intermittently switching the score from 4-0 to 9-0 with a deft touch across the top of the figure four.
“We want ten,” the home supporters responded. It was an optimistic shout but the Kop were in ebullient mood. “Going down” they then taunted the Blackburn fans.
Now that did have a ring of authenticity to it.
