Not for the first time in his brilliant career, Steven Gerrard rescued Liverpool, where his 87th minute goal gave Liverpool a 2-1 win ove QPR. The win, combined with Man United’s defeat at home to West Brom kept alive Liverpool’s faint Champions league hopes and eased the pressure on Reds boss Brendan Rodgers.
It looked like the headlines had been written earlier in the half when Onuoha pulled down Martin Skrtel in the penalty box and Gerrard stepped up to take the penalty in front of the kop. But the Liverpool legend, in his penultimate home game, saw his penalty saved by Rob Green.
But Gerrard kept going and three minutes from time he got on the end of a Philippe Coutinho’s corner to send the cop into rapture once again.
Afterwards, Rodgers paid tribute to his captain saying:
“It’s world-class talent,” said Rodgers. “There’s a very, very small group of players in that bracket, where in the big games they score the big goals and make the big contributions.
“He’s done that, everyone has seen that throughout his entire career at Liverpool.
“He missed the penalty and sometimes you think it may go against us, but there is no-one more determined to score and make up for it than Steven. It was a very, very good header.
“He was very determined, especially after the penalty. You sometimes find with a lot of players that when they miss a big penalty like that, normally their game goes and their confidence goes.
“But he’s the total opposite. He’s one of a unique group of players that whenever they need to respond, they normally do. It was an outstanding header and obviously gets us the win.”
Gerrard left the field to a standing ovation in the closing seconds, marking his penultimate Anfield appearance before he bids farewell to the club at the end of the season.
The personal joy he took from the winner was clear, as was the appreciation from every corner of the stadium, with the time to say emotional goodbyes moving ever closer.
Rodgers continued:
“His career is probably all flashing before his eyes now.
“It was brilliant to get it at the Kop end as well – it was a really special moment for him. It all goes very quickly, but you can see he is still contributing at this level.
“There was no-one better, especially when he missed the penalty. I knew that if you keep him on, you’ve got every chance of getting a goal. He always steps up to the plate.”
