Brendan Rodgers was left disappointed after defensive mistakes threatened to spoil Steven Gerrard’s final game at Anfield.
READ MORE:
Liverpool Transfer News
(Video) Liverpool 1-3 Crystal Palace: Goals and highlights from Steven Gerrard’s Anfield farewell
(Video) The moment that Steven Gerrard left the Anfield pitch for the final time
Despite Adam Lallana giving us the lead, goals from Jason Puncheon, Wilfried Zaha, and Glenn Murray meant that our last home game of the season ended in defeat. But despite the loss, the events had greater significance than the destination of the three points on offer, as before, after, and during the game, Anfield stood to applaud the achievements of our skipper, who will be leaving for MLS in the summer.
The Liverpool Echo report that Rodgers has paid tribute to Gerrard, praising his never-say-die attitude that was evident today. Rodgers went on to say that he was sorry that we could not provide a send-off befitting of the club legend.
“Steven got a wonderful send-off and did everything right until the very end,” he explained.
“The support he got was a brilliant and what they would expect of him, he has been a wonderful player and gave his all for the club. It was fantastic for him and his family.
“But the result was disappointing,” he added.
Rodgers revealed that he felt that it was three mistakes that cost us a victory, and thought that those were caused by the attacking threat that Crystal Palace carried.
“We made poor defensive errors across the field and got punished at the end of the first half and in the second half we didn’t defend well enough,” Rodgers said.
“Their attacking players posed us problems and we didn’t cope well enough,” he added.
The defeat mattered little in terms of our Premier League position, but it does represent a disappointing way to end the campaign – especially if we fall to another defeat at Stoke next Sunday. The boss admitted that signings of the highest calibre will be needed if we are to improve next season.
“This year has been a difficult year in many aspects but the players have given everything they can. Hopefully in the summer we can add that quality,” he concluded.