It was a near-perfect ending to an arduous afternoon’s work for the Reds, as Steven Gerrard bagged the winning goal three minutes from time on his penultimate appearance at Anfield.
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Philippe Coutinho had earlier put the Reds in front, only for Leroy Fer to equalise midway through the second-half. Gerrard then missed a penalty as we missed the chance to go back in front, while Nedum Onuoha received his marching orders for bringing down Jordon Ibe. Gerrard then grabbed the winner to send the Kop into hysterics.
Here are five things we learned:
5) A fully-fit Adam Lallana could be great
We’ve been waiting for quite some time but today we finally saw what Adam Lallana is capable of. Before being withdrawn midway through the second-half, the £25m summer signing was arguably the best player on the pitch, causing Rangers no end of problems with his pace and movement. A few more performances like this and we could be on to something special. Let’s hope that next season he can put his injury problems behind him and crack on!
4) Set-pieces need to be worked on
Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren were generally solid today, other than for one moment in the second-half. The pair were left looking at each other in frustration as they allowed Leroy Fer all the time in the world to turn home QPR’s equaliser. Thankfully, the moment proved not to be crucial. However, it should act as a wake-up call to Rodgers, who will know only too well that this is not the first time his defence have been caught out like this.
3) Rickie Lambert has something to offer
The big-man was excellent today. He proved himself to be a far better focal point than Mario Balotelli, holding up the ball well throughout and making the first goal for Coutinho. That’s nothing against the Italian, we all know that he’s more suited to playing alongside a partner. If Lambert can get a couple more starts between now and the end of the season then he might yet prove himself worthy of staying at Anfield for another season.
2) We should totally ignore the ‘Rodgers our, Rafa in’ banner
At first, we were hugely disappointed that Liverpool fans had chosen a rather unclassy way in which to protest Rodgers’ tenure at Anfield, but it appears the #RodgersOut group were backed up by a Manchester United fan – who owns the air-ad company. We want neither of this buffoonish groups at Anfield in future.
1) Nobody is loved like Steven Gerrard is, and we’ll miss him dearly
Today emphasised everything that’s great about Steven Gerrard. He picked himself from missing that penalty and headed home the winner in wonderful fashion. Only as he raced away to celebrate in the fans did most of them realise that they could be watching these celebrations for the final time. Whatever’s happened over the last year, our iconic midfielder remains one of our greatest ever players. A title he’ll keep with him for ever more.
