- Gladiator In The Land Of Gods
Liverpool locked horns with Olympiacos on 8th December 2004 with a simple, yet complex equation: the English outfit had to register a two-goal win to advance to the knockout stages of the Champions League. To worsen the scenario for the Reds, Rivaldo scored an absolute stunner for the Greek side, which implied that Liverpool then needed three goals to secure a qualification. Impossible? Not really when Stevie’s in the fray.
Having scored two in reply, time was running out for Liverpool to score the third and just when clouds started to hover over Liverpool’s prospects, Gerrard blasted a neat finish from outside the penalty area in a dramatic game filled with an intriguing turnaround to win his side the tickets to the knockout stage.
- Hammered The Hammers!
Gerrard’s performance in FA Cup Final win over West Ham United in 2006 was an outing composed of sheer grit, perseverance and the mentality to win no matter what the situation is. Alan Pardew’s West Ham side could contain all but one Liverpool player and no prize for guessing who that was.
Despite being in pain, Gerrard bagged two crucial goals, with the second one coming in the dying minutes from 30-yards away from the goal to cancel out the slender lead of the Hammers. The Millennium Stadium erupted after the thunderous goal, just like the way the entire Liverpool fan base did when they witnessed their side take away the FA Cup from the clutches of the Hammers. A real man-of-the-match display from Stevie G as he went on to score in the penalty shoot-out to eventually hand his side a 3-1 win.
- The Memorable Night At Istanbul
Without any shadow of a doubt, the finest moment in the illustrious career of the former Liverpool midfielder was the unforgettable night at Istanbul. AC Milan tore the Reds apart in the first half of the Champions League as they slotted three goals before the interval.
However, Gerrard wasn’t going to let the eighteen-time league Champions go down without a fight back. He headed John Arne Riise’s cross beyond Dida to cultivate resurgence from his side, which was followed by goals from Vladamír Šmicer and Xabi Alonso to level the goal-tally.
Eventually, Liverpool won by 3-2 in the penalty shoot-out as the Italian outfit succumbed to a revitalised side under the captaincy of Gerrard as the Englishman kissed the lucrative silverware after a stupendous Champions League Final win in 2005.
