LIVERPOOL // Steven Gerrard’s brand of barnstorming brilliance long encompassed an ability to render the other 21 players on the pitch irrelevant.
So he did again, but in a different way. This was not a final example of Gerrard’s propensity for the spectacular.
Rather than a fairy-tale farewell, it was a sadly appropriate ending.
This has been an anticlimactic year for Liverpool and Gerrard alike.
They have long looked to their captain to rouse a flat team and in a mundane performance, and as Crystal Palace recorded a first win at Anfield since 1991, Gerrard’s distinctly flat teammates seemed to be relying on the 34-year-old to stage one last rescue act.
He could not.
Gerrard had scored in his previous two appearances but even he, with his capacity to pen improbable scripts, could not conjure another goal. He had one long-range shot saved but Anfield’s last great Gerrard moment came two weeks earlier against Queens Park Rangers.
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Yet the game was a sideshow, overshadowed by the pre-match and post-match thanksgivings.
Gerrard was rapturously received for a presentation after the final whistle. Anfield remained packed, fans cheering his words as they had saluted his deeds.
This was an occasion, a celebration, an extended tribute to the greatest Liverpool player of the 21st century, if not ever.
A keen sense of nostalgia forms part of the Liverpudlian psyche and Gerrard has enriched their history with a propensity for the sensational in an Anfield career that lasted 16 years and 167 days from his debut in 1998 to his final appearance on home soil yesterday.
Next week’s trip to Stoke beckons before he fades into the sunset in Los Angeles, but this was a 354th and final appearance in front of his adoring public.
“I am absolutely devastated that I will never play in front of these supporters again,” Gerrard said. “I have loved every minute of it.
“I have been dreading this moment and because I am going to miss it so much.”
They will miss him, too, although Gerrard spent much of his valedictory outing chugging around the midfield, unable to stop Palace’s quick, penetrative counter-attacks.
He exerted a greater influence when shunted into a more advanced role for the final half-hour, but he is deprived of the dynamism that made him so deadly.
Where he had the menace, now he has the memories.
His association with Liverpool dates back 27 years.
The legend is explained in part by longevity and loyalty, particularly in troubled times.
In a season of underachievement, this became the must-see event and tickets had changed hands for more than £1,200 (Dh6,930).
The directors’ box included Gerard Houllier, the manager who granted Gerrard the captaincy at 23 years old.
As an era ended, both sides formed a guard of honour for Gerrard and his daughters.
The Kop was transformed into a mosaic, reading “S8G”.
Banners were produced, commemorating the moment he lifted the Uefa Champions League.
As the final whistle blew and the crowd rose to give him a standing ovation, Gerrard’s name echoed around Anfield. If Kenny Dalglish is a pertinent precedent, it may well do for years to come.
“He got a wonderful send-off,” said Rodgers, though not from his colleagues.
The opening goal created by one who came through the Liverpool academy.
Martin Kelly plays for Palace now, however, and misplaced pass was intercepted by Adam Lallana, who finished adeptly.
Sadly for Gerrard, Kelly’s teammates showed a distinct lack of sentiment.
Jason Puncheon equalised with a free kick and the two substitutes struck, Wilfried Zaha with his first touch after Yannick Bolasie’s cross, and Glenn Murray with the rebound after Simon Mignolet saved his penalty.
“The result was disappointing,” said Rodgers.
But it isn’t why this will be remembered.
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