Steven Gerrard and his net-bursting strikes have gone down in folklore as some of the best goals ever seen in the Premier League era. However, it is his goals in the UEFA Champions League that got him worldwide attention, particularly the ones that came in Liverpool’s triumphant 2004-’05 season.
Despite winning only a small portion of what Liverpool legends of the 1970s and the ‘80s did, Gerrard is widely regarded by the fans of the red half of Merseyside as their second best player of all-time, behind the great Kenny Dalglish.
Over the course of his 18-year career, Gerrard proved that he could score all kinds of goals. Although he became synonymous with power, the 36-year-old proved that he has enough skill to deftly slot the ball into the net too. The former England captain could also link up brilliantly with his forwards and win titles with even with an average team.
The Istanbul effect
It was the Champions League final and Liverpool were 0-3 down at halftime after being picked apart by Kaka and AC Milan in the first half.
The situation called for the biggest personality in the team to inspire the side and make his teammates believe that they could stage an improbable comeback. It was a neat header, nothing spectacular about it, but it was arguably the most important one of his career. Liverpool came back to draw the game 3-3 and win the contest via a penalty shootout.
“What a hit, son”
...Those were former commentator Andy Gray’s immortal words when Gerrard sweetly struck the ball from 25 yards out in the dying seconds of the game. Liverpool’s tryst with comeback wins perhaps started from here.
The 18-time English champions entered this contest needing three goals to progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League. Brazilian legend Rivaldo scored an early goal to put Olympiakos ahead. Liverpool battled hard and went into the lead at 2-1. They needed another goal and an ordinary left-wing cross was lashed into the net by Gerrard in what looked like a scene straight out of a lazily-made sports flick.
The long-range special
Playing against Manchester United brought out some of Gerrard’s best performances. He was still a young player at the time this match was played (2000-’01 season). The rampant United side were on course to win the league title and a careless pass by keeper Fabian Barthez proved to be costly as a thunderous Gerrard strike from 35 yards flattened the Red Devils. Liverpool went on to win the game 2-0 at Anfield.
The FA Cup win
In almost identical fashion to the Olympiakos goal, Gerrard unleashed one in the last minute of the game, just when a loss was dawning on Liverpool. This goal came during the 2006 FA Cup. The clock was ticking down to full-time and Liverpool were 2-3 down in the game against West Ham United. Gerrard took a couple of strides forward and smoked one from 30 yards to take the game to extra-time. His side would go on to win the game on penalties
The dribbler
Here, his side was already coasting to a win. If there were people who thought Gerrard was one-dimensional with his goalscoring, they ought to see this mazy dribble. The Scouse legend takes the ball from midfield and skips past three Sheffield Wednesday players before calmly slotting the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net.
