Today marks the fourth anniversary of the final competitive appearance Steven Gerrard made against Manchester United in his long and storied professional career, at Anfield on 22nd March 2015.
Both sides were tussling for fourth place and, with an end-of-the-season transfer to LA Galaxy looming, Mr Liverpool entered the fray at half-time in an attempt to haul his lacklustre team back into the running.
The Reds were trailing 0-1 to a Juan Mata scissor kick, leading Brendan Rodgers to replace Adam Lallana with club captain and talisman Gerrard for the second half.
Alas, his game-turning captain’s innings lasted just 38 seconds, during which he offered a thunderous tackle on Mata followed by a petulant stamp on Ander Herrera which resulted in a straight red card…
Of course, the mockery was instant.
Iconic heat map. pic.twitter.com/Xc3Zxn0CYG
— Who Ate All The Pies (@waatpies) 22 March 2019
Liverpool went onto lose 1-2 in front of their own fans, with Mata scoring again to seal the win for United before Daniel Sturridge popped up with a 69th-minute consolation.
The result saw United move five points clear of their historic foes, with the gap eventually opening up to eight points as the former finished fourth and Liverpool ended up in sixth place – their season culminating in a 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace then an embarrassing 6-1 away tonking against Stoke City.
Gerrard went on to score three more goals in his final five league outings for the Reds before departing for La-La Land.