Liverpool legends recorded a 2-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday in a light-hearted afternoon at Anfield.
The game, organized to raise funds for both club’s charity partners featured a host of former legends, including Steven Gerrard, Sami Hyypia and Dirk Kuyt, while for Chelsea the star names included Gianfranco Zola, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Claude Makelele.
But it was Peter Crouch who stole the show with a second-half brace to ensure the hosts grabbed a very popular victory at Anfield. Here are the main talking points from the charity game.
What it’s all for
Let’s not forget why this game was staged in the first place – and the most important element of the entire day: to raise money for a very worthy cause. The funds generated from this year’s game will support the LFC Foundation’s health initiatives, which provide physical and mental wellbeing programmes for people of all ages throughout the Liverpool city region. Last year, the Foundation supported over 127,000 people through its programmes, delivering 18,000 sessions and events across 300 community venues, including 199 schools.
Not all fun and games
Despite this being a charity game, there were a few sliding tackles and cynical fouls – perhaps unsurprisingly with the likes of Jay Spearing, Ramires and Makelele on the pitch. Admittedly, most fouls were followed by an apologetic hand, but Makelele took exception to a first-half challenge from Spearing – and let him know about it. In the second period, Florent Sinama-Pongolle was also vexed by a robust challenge from Florent Malouda. There was a slightly silly moment from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink when he decided to block Jerzey Dudek’s kick – a foul in any game – and clipped the Pole. Sadly, that was the end of Dudek’s day as he limped off with a hamstring injury.
Still the main man
It was obvious before kick-off what the vast majority inside Anfield most hoped to see on Saturday: Gerrard roll back the years. And they got it, with the captain on the day looking sharp, linking well with team-mates and demonstrating his immaculate range of passing. He was also among those taking this game seriously, perhaps spurred on by a few hundred Chelsea fans who booed him as he swung in a corner half an hour into the game. He certainly looked pumped, running beyond Chelsea defenders, voicing his frustration at misplaced passes and routinely looking for shooting opportunities. Gerrard, who played the full 90 minutes, didn’t get his goal that the fans craved, but there were a few near misses, including a crucial headed clearance from Jose Bosingwa to deny a shooting chance in the box, while Yossi Benayoun couldn’t quite tee him up a few yards from goal late on.
Dowie makes history
Saturday’s game was another indication of how far women’s soccer is progressing as Natasha Dowie became the first women’s player to represent the legends’ team when she was introduced from the bench after 30 minutes, She spoke beforehand about her pride at playing, how her family were in attendance and it was the biggest crowd she’s ever played in front of. It wasn’t the ideal start for the 36-year-old, who crunched Makelele with a mistimed tackle. Thankfully, he managed to continue and Dowie put in an impressive display up front.
The Crouch show
After a relatively dull first period, the introduction of Crouch changed the game, with the striker netting two off the bench. The one-time England international spoke of how excited his five-year-old, Liverpool-supporting son was to see him don the red jersey again. So who knows just how excited he was when Crouch nodded past Robert Green to grab the game’s opening goal after 55 minutes. The robot, inevitably followed, in front of The Kop. Crouch was loving it and was over the moon to grab another soon after, this time lobbing Green from the back post. The second celebration was equally as enthusiastic and culminated in him running to the bench to embrace Sir Kenny Dalglish, John Aldridge, Ian Rush and John Barnes, with the quartet of Liverpool legends giving him a standing ovation.
