On Sunday at Anfield Liverpool suffered just their second home defeat of the season in the Premier League to Chelsea.
It was a damaging one.
Frustrated all game long by Chelsea’s ultra-defensive tactics, the Reds couldn’t find a way through and right on half time the pivotal moment arrived which gave Chelsea an advantage they never relinquished.
Mamadou Sakho played a short pass infield to Steven Gerrard but as the Liverpool skipper looked up to make his pass, he slipped, then stumbled and Demba Ba picked up the ball, ran towards the Kop and slotted home Chelsea’s opener. Anfield was stunned as their captain, who so often bailed them out in the past, had just made a monumental error. It is a cruel, cruel world we live in.
In fairness, fans inside the stadium didn’t turn on Gerrard and afterwards Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers put no blame on the 33-year-old superstar. So often in the past he has dug them out of tight situations and been inspirational on their march to winning the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup trophies. Yet with the PL title on the line and Liverpool knowing a draw or win over Chelsea would keep their destiny in their own hands, Gerrard’s slip could well cost Liverpool the title.
That slip was the pivotal one in the headline moment of the week, which you can watch unfold in the video above.
Do you think Gerrard’s slip has cost Liverpool their first league title in 24 years?