December 26, Boxing Day.

In the 18th round of the English Premier League, Liverpool hosted Newcastle United.

Boxing Day symbolises the start of the Premier League's devilish fixtures, which can wear down the leading teams and pull the laggards further and further in the next month or so.

The intensive schedule around New Year's Day is the best test of a team's bench depth, and often only established giants such as Manchester United and Liverpool have more experience with this period of play.

But this year, due to the extra cup competitions, the Reds' devil's schedule has been indirectly extended. The 0-0 Sunderland game was a start for Liverpool.

On this day, even with light rain and occasional thunder in the grey sky, the fans arrived at Anfield earlier than usual.

For a very important reason: Liverpool's golden boy returned to Anfield for the first time after 18 months.

In the last round, the most dazzling in the Premier League was Owen.

A left-footed, right-footed, plus a header, Owen used three ways in a row to score his first hat-trick since returning to the Premier League.

It is also worth mentioning that in addition to scoring a hat-trick in this game, Owen also provided an assist. In other words, he was involved in all four of Newcastle's goals.

Shearer was one of the beneficiaries of Owen's magical performance, scoring his 199th goal for Newcastle, just one goal away from the club's all-time killer Mild. With a partner like Owen who can pass, shoot and tear open gaps, Shearer's day of becoming Newcastle's number one killer is not far off.

8 games, 8 starts, 719 minutes played, 7 goals scored, an average of 102 minutes spent on 1 goal scored. The returning Owen became the second most efficient killer in the Premier League behind Thierry Henry.

Last season at Real Madrid, Owen also scored again and again in his limited playing time and left the Bernawood with dignity. Zinedine Zidane said in his farewell to Owen: "Newcastle made a successful deal because they bought one of the world's top killers. ”

Owen is also a lot of things in the world now, and he is used to watching the autumn moon and spring breeze.

I have seen a lot of turmoil on the rivers and lakes, I know a lot of characters on the rivers and lakes, and I have tasted a lot of cold and warm, cloudy and sunny things on the rivers and lakes. He is a person on this road, and when he eats this food, everything that should be his has survived one by one, and all those who shouldn't be his have missed it. All laws are fateful, but if you do your best, you will be worthy of it.

This time, when Liverpool's golden boy wore a black and white striped number 10 shirt and walked into Anfield behind goalkeeper Given, the crowd was silent.

Fans looked at the club's former golden boy with mixed feelings.

After a brief silence, the familiar and distant song came from the stands.

"You'll never walk alone."

In front of the screen, Zhan Jun sighed, his face a little melancholy.

The golden boy is only 25 years old, but his face is already full of vicissitudes.

"Men have to be themselves!" I don't forget which unscrupulous advertising slogan said, this sentence is applied to Owen, and it couldn't be more suitable: no matter how serious a man's internal injuries are, he has to take care of them.

"Today there is only a remnant of the body, welcoming the glorious years, holding on to freedom in the wind and rain..."Huang Jianxiang sang a cappella on the side, "The old place is revisited, and the things are man-made." The golden boy of yesteryear has become an opponent, and if I were Gerrard, I don't know what to do. ”

Looking at the familiar faces, Owen did not communicate with his former teammates.

It's not necessary, there's something to say after the game.

Drops of rain fell, with tragic but warm emotion, and smashed on the Anfield turf, setting off a splash.

"Bang!"

Shearer's shot shattered the silence of the pitch as Owen, who had just reacted from his recollections, stepped into the splash with his right foot and stopped the rolling ball.

The former Reds golden boy and Shearer formed a Newcastle striker, Parker was suspended, teenager Taylor started, and Spaniard Luke appeared on the left side of midfield.

For the Reds, Sissoko was suspended, Steven Gerrard returned to the middle, Garcia and Colwill split the left and right wings, Crouch and Morientes remained up front, and Cisse continued to sit on the bench.

Benitez has been fond of the two-tower tactic lately, and the two high forwards not only have a great advantage in the high ball, but also will be the two guiding lights in the front court, allowing Tang Wu to spot his teammates in the first place.

In the face of Moreau's grab, Owen was obviously a little absent-minded.

He wanted to turn around to protect the ball, but was knocked by Morrow. Fortunately, it was his own half, and he hurriedly passed the ball to the feet of his teammates.

Liverpool, who were in good form, were in full swing, Newcastle only had a few kicks down, and the ball came to Owen again in a hurry, under the high pressure of the Reds.

This time, Owen faced his former captain and good friend Steven Gerrard.

The golden boy still didn't find his form, he just shook it for a while, and then hurriedly passed the ball. Then, as he ran forward, he crashed into Gerrard's arms.

This is not the usual Michael Owen, and it is very different from the England golden boy in the last game!

After receiving Owen's inaccurate pass, Luke hurriedly kicked a big kick in the face of the Liverpool player's pressing.

Such a long ball was falling into the hands of Liverpool, and Hyypia flicked the ball with a header into his own box.

As soon as the ball crossed the penalty line, it fell into the hands of a pair of eleven fingers.

Tang Wu held the ball in his right hand and wiped a handful of rain on his face with his left hand.

It's hard to play a fast break in such weather, and the longer the ball travels in the air, the more interference it will receive, and the more uncontrollable factors there will be.

Tang Wu, who was convinced of probability, did not like to "gamble" when it didn't make sense, and after the fullbacks on both sides retreated, Tang Wu chose to hand the ball to the safer side.

The ball was quickly played to the front of the pitch, and Colwill met the ball with a volley from Morientes.

Unfortunately, the ball hit the Newcastle defender and was easily picked up by Given.

Ji Wen did not slow down the pace like Tang Wu, but after glancing ahead, he quickly kicked the ball out of his hand.

Watching the ball fly in the air, Shearer jumped to his chest and stopped the ball at his feet.

At this point, Liverpool's players were back in place, with Alonso and Steven Gerrard both running to Shearer.

Although the once-glamorous Newcastle captain does not have many outstanding achievements, his nose on the pitch cannot be ignored.

With Liverpool's two men defending, Shearer could barely see what was going on on the other side of the pitch.

But in such a situation, the Magpies captain curled a ball with his right foot and kicked the ball towards the Liverpool half.

"What are you doing? Aren't you very good at running around here? Run, run!! Shearer used his last strength to pass the ball before falling into a pool of water, shouting alone into the air in front of him.

Carragher's speed was almost at an extreme, and even so, he watched helplessly as the ball arced in front of his eyes.

Just as Carragher leaned over to chase the ball, a black and white figure suddenly appeared from the left side of his body. In the blink of an eye, the ball was snatched away by the black shadow.

Irving?!

When he saw his opponent's back, Carragher immediately remembered his former roommate.

"Owen dribbles!" In just four words, Zhan Jun felt like he was back in time four years ago, when Owen was chasing the wind on the court.

In this drizzle, Owen dribbled the ball very quickly. It only took three touches to take the ball to the right side of the Liverpool penalty area.

At this moment, the fans in the Anfield stands were also boiling.

Although Irving is already wearing a black and white jersey, as long as he sees the former golden boy running wild with the ball, many fans subconsciously cheer.

Seeing Finnan, who was completely stuck behind by Owen because of his slightly inferior speed, even many Liverpool fans were dazzled, as if they saw the heroic boy who couldn't pull it in the 98 World Cup.

Bang!

Just when the fans were thinking about Owen's next move, Owen, who had just brought the ball to the line of the penalty area, actually shot directly from a distance.

Hyypia, who was stuck on the inside, was about to expel Owen to a more sideline, but he didn't expect the other party to hit the door directly. Barely stretched out his left leg, but he didn't wait to block it.

Boom!

Hiss~~~

A slender figure crossed in front of the Liverpool goal, and almost at the moment when Owen got up, Tang Wu was already ready to save and flew out.

The whistling ball was getting closer and closer in Tang Wu's eyes, Tang Wu gritted his teeth, and only heard a "click" sound from his shoulder, and then a sharp pain came from his left arm from his fingers to his shoulder.

After landing on the ground, Tang Wu quickly supported his body with his right arm and connected his left shoulder as fast as he could. Looking at the ball that popped out of the air and the bottom line, Tang Wu breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at the embarrassed Tang Wu, Gerald, who had just chased back to the middle circle, sighed lightly: "That wind-chasing boy is back again!" ”