STEVEN GERRARD thought he moved to America to escape the merciless trolls ribbing him for his costly 2014 slip which handed Chelsea the title – but he could not be more wrong.
Ahead of the Blues playing Gerrard’s old club Liverpool in the his new homeland this week, and not content with a cruel chant already alluding to the error, mischievous Chelsea fans have made a banner bringing up his inability to win a Premier League title in his 17-year career at Anfield.
Steven Gerrard famously slips letting Demba Ba in to score a decisive goal in 2014
Chelsea captain John Terry has won four, which the sign is keep to point out – while also adding to the humiliation by calling him “Slippy G”.
Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool were famously about to win the league in April 2014 when in first-half stoppage time, Gerrard miscontrolled a Mamadou Sakho pass and slipped, allowing Demba Ba to run onto the ball and finish comfortably.
Chelsea took the momentum, won the game 2-0 and ultimately the title went to Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City.
Gerrard plays for LA Galaxy now, but the two top flight sides meet in Pasadena on Wednesday in the International Champions Cup, just minutes up the road from Gerrard’s new home city.
And the former England international spoke last year about how he could not stop crying when the chance of lifting a Premier League trophy slipped away.
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He told the Daily Mail: “I sat in the back of the car and felt the tears rolling down my face. I hadn’t cried for years but, on the way home, I couldn’t stop.
“The tears kept coming. I can’t even tell you if the streets were thick with traffic or as empty as I was on the inside. It was killing me.
“I felt numb, like I had lost someone in my family. It was as if my whole quarter of a century at this football club poured out of me. I did not even try to stem the silent tears as the events of the afternoon played over and over again in my head.
“A simple pass rolled towards me near the halfway line. It was a nothing moment, a lull in our surge to the title. I moved to meet the ball. It slid under my foot. The twist came then. I slipped. I fell to the ground.
“The ball was swept away and the devastating Chelsea attack began. I clambered to my feet and ran with all my heart. I chased Demba Ba as though my life depended on it. I knew the outcome if I couldn’t catch him. But it was hopeless. I couldn’t stop him. Ba scored. It was over.”
A touching tale, but one which has clearly held no bearing over Chelsea’s savage supporters.
Gerrard is out of contract at the end of the year and there have been rumours of returning to Merseyside to become a coach under Jurgen Klopp – but he insists he has not yet heard from the German boss.
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