It’s OK to Talk About ‘The Slip’

Two words that will forever be associated with Liverpool FC and Steven Gerrard.

Just say them out loud to any Liverpool fan and it’s like a dagger to the heart.

It was a cruel twist that befell our captain. But It certainly doesn’t define Gerrard. He was the one who dragged us from nearly men to European Champions.

My favourite Gerrard performance was the 2006 FA cup final and that equalising goal remains my favourite Liverpool goal ever scored.

But just as Maradonna is plagued by references to the hand of God, so too will Steven Gerrard always be plagued by references to the slip.

And yet here we are again, 5 years later with a title in touching distance and a home game against Chelsea in our way. Like 2014, Chelsea’s bid was all but over but Manchester City stood to be the beneficiaries - the symmetry is strikingly mesmerising.

The week will be filled with talk of Demba Ba, Torres and yes, even Aspas’ corner. But let’s embrace it.

This is a great opportunity to lay the ghost to rest. There’s a strong argument that since the turn of the century, Chelsea have almost become our greatest enemy. The classic Champions League encounters between Benitez and Mourinho, the cup finals and yes, even the game of 2014. There’s certainly no love lost between both clubs.

But do this squad have the mental strength to do what Rodgers squad couldn’t - beat Chelsea?

I remember the game of 2014 quite clearly and it wasn’t a great Chelsea performance. In fact, I recall a lot of dirty tactics, time wasting etc. It all proved effective come full time but I don’t think they’d have won that game had it not been down to the infamous moment.

Either way, the Liverpool players and Klopp might be able to ignore most of the references to 2014 but many of the fans won’t - the Chelsea fans definitely wont.

I hope Chelsea enter a cauldron on Sunday and it spurs the lads on to beat a team we haven’t done so at Anfield since 2012.

As for the slip - it’s OK to talk about it. Don’t let it define the current crop. They’re good enough to see this Chelsea side off.