Steven Gerrard accomplished so much during his 17 years at Liverpool and was the protagonist in many of the finest moments in the club’s history.
Yet there’s one mistake that he will never, ever forget. Nor will he be allowed to.
Gerrard’s slip against Chelsea in 2014, which effectively cost Liverpool the Premier League title, continues to haunt the former midfielder who is among the finest never to have lifted the trophy.
“The slip happened at a bad time, it was cruel for me personally,” Gerrard told The Guardian two years ago.
“There’s not a day that doesn’t go by that I don’t think about what if that didn’t happen.
“Would things have been different? Would it have turned out different? Maybe it might of, I don’t know."
Of course, Gerrard isn’t wholly at fault for Liverpool throwing away the chance to claim their first league title for 24 years.
He was immense in the 2013-14 season but his error was more recognisable, and more punishing, than any that came before or after it.
What made it even more agonising for Liverpool fans, and hilarious to their rivals, was Gerrard’s “We don’t let this slip” speech following the 3-2 win against Manchester City, a fortnight prior to the Chelsea loss.
But once the Liverpool captain slipped, the nightmare began to unravel.
Demba Ba capitalised on Gerrard’s mistake to set the Blues on their way to a 2-0 win at Anfield.
It led to that awful collapse at Selhurst Park, when Brendan Rodgers’ side threw away a 3-0 lead to draw against Crystal Palace.
The only way Manchester City were going to win the title that season was if Liverpool completely blew it, and that’s what they did.
What Gerrard now says about his slip
Three years on and Gerrard can now laugh about his slip, as he did at the Legends of Football event in London on Monday.
The 37-year-old, now the coach of Liverpool’s Under-18 and Under-19 sides, was honoured for his services to football at the charity event.
And it was during his speech that Gerrard revealed that he’s tried to pass the blame on to Mamadou Sakho, who played the pass that the former England intentional failed to control.
“Gerrard jokes he's tried to blame his Demba Ba slip on Sakho's pass many times but ‘no one's having it’,” reported ESPN correspondent Liam Twomey.
