Long-serving Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard bade an underwhelming farewell to Anfield on Saturday as his side lost 3-1 to Crystal Palace in his final home game for the club.
After almost 17 years of service, 709 appearances, 185 goals and 10 trophies, the 34-year-old midfielder had hoped to sign off on a winning note before joining the Los Angeles Galaxy in July.
But although Adam Lallana put Liverpool ahead, goals from Jason Puncheon and substitutes Wilfried Zaha and Glenn Murray ruined the script as Palace ended a four-game losing streak and claimed a first league win at Anfield since 1991.
Liverpool’s English midfielder Steven Gerrard (C) talks to a journalist as he says farewell at the end of the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at the Anfield stadium in Liverpool,
The defeat ended Liverpool’s slim mathematical hope of Champions League qualification ahead of their final game at Stoke City, but that was of minor concern on a day that belonged to their beloved, home-grown captain.
Several former Liverpool greats were among the 44,673 people in attendance, as well as ex-manager Gerard Houllier, who handed an 18-year-old Gerrard his debut as a substitute against Blackburn Rovers in November 1998.
Players from both sides formed a guard of honour as Gerrard took to the pitch accompanied by his daughters Lourdes, Lexie and Lilly-Ella, while fans in the Kop and Centenary Stand formed mosaics in his honour.
Predictably, with Liverpool realistically unable to qualify for the Champions League and Palace long safe from relegation, the sense of occasion diminished the moment the match began.
Palace’s fans, meanwhile, seized an opportunity to remind the man of the hour of the only title to have eluded him during his distinguished Anfield career, chanting: “Have you ever seen Gerrard win the league?”
