Five years ago Liverpool hosted Manchester United in what was to be Steven Gerrard’s final match against their arch-rivals, with a summer move to Los Angeles Galaxy pending.
Here, the PA news agency looks at how it panned out.
How the match unfolded
What happened next?
How they reacted?
Gerrard: “The decision was right. I want to apologise to my team-mates, the manager and supporters” #LFCvsMUFC pic.twitter.com/btA82fLPpp
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 22, 2015
Gerrard, having more than 45 minutes to consider his actions, fronted up in front of the television cameras with an apology. “I need to accept it, the decision was right. I have let my team-mates and manager down today, even more importantly I let all the supporters down and I take full responsibility for my action,” he said. Rodgers refused to condemn his captain, saying: “He was probably frustrated watching us in the first half, we didn’t make a tackle. He was man enough to come out and apologise. I won’t criticise him.” Gerrard’s close-friend Jamie Carragher accepted it was in the nature of the player: “Sometimes he hasn’t played with his brain in terms of when he’s done well, it’s been his heart – the (FA) Cup final against West Ham, Istanbul (the Champions League final). That wasn’t Steven Gerrard playing with a cold, calculated head, that was just him playing from the heart.”
What were the implications?
