Iconic Moments in Football No.68
Liverpool fans were finally able to enjoy winning the championship last season, ending a 30-year wait to be the best club in England. German manager Jurgen Klopp masterminded the title win, managing to finally claim the one trophy that had eluded the Anfield club for so long.
The wait was made all the more painful for Liverpool fans as Manchester United lifted the trophy thirteen times between 1992 and 2013. United are one of Liverpool’s most bitter rivals and the Premier League was the one trophy that Liverpool fans yearned for the most.
Six years ago, it looked all-but-certain that the league title was going to Merseyside. Brendan Rodgers was in charge of the club at the time and his free-flowing, attack-minded team was closing in on the championship.
Manchester City were Liverpool’s main rivals for the title and Liverpool beat them 3-2 at Anfield on 13th April. Captain Steven Gerrard huddled the team together on the pitch at the end of the game and part of his rally cry included the phrase “This does not slip!”. How those words would soon come back to haunt him…
Liverpool followed this victory with a 3-2 win at Norwich City. They then faced Chelsea at Anfield, knowing that a victory would all but clinch the league title.
The game was goalless going into first half injury time and Liverpool were in possession of the ball. They had pressed high up the pitch and defender Mamadou Sakho had the ball out on the left wing. The next ten seconds would change Liverpool’s season and go down in Premier League history.
Captain Steven Gerrard had dropped deep to give Sakho an easy pass and the Frenchman obliged with a soft pass that rolled effortlessly across the Anfield turf. Gerrard looked up at the wrong time and the ball went under his foot. Chelsea’s striker Demba Ba was after the ball in an instant and as Gerrard tried desperately to regain possession, his legs got tangled, he slipped forwards and fell to his knees.
Unfortunately for Gerrard and Liverpool, Demba Ba had got hold of the loose ball and was past the Liverpool captain in an instant.
Ba was suddenly racing in towards the goal at the Kop End with only goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to beat. Gerrard had regained his balance but was a couple of yards behind the Chelsea forward. It was too late though as Ba slid the ball under Mignolet into the back of the net.
Chelsea would go on and win the match 2-0 to heap the pressure on Liverpool. Eight days later, they let a three-goal lead slip away to Crystal Palace, conceding three goals in the final twelve minutes. It would prove costly as Manchester City won the League title by two points.
It’s so very ironic that after Steven Gerrard said “This doesn’t slip” that he himself would slip to give away a goal that cost his beloved Liverpool the league title. Only a club legend like Gerrard can get away with it though.
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