The hope of thousands, millions even, dashed within 90 minutes. Dashed within two kicks of the ball, dashed within one slip on the grass.
Sunday April 27th was one of the most depressing days that Liverpool Football Club have suffered in recent history, as the club's hopes of a first title in 24 years were whisked away in a smash and grab victory by Chelsea. The Londoners won 2-0 thanks to goals from Demba Ba and Willian, however the day will always be remembered for Steven Gerrard's infamous slip, gifting the visitors their opener.
Liverpool were coming into the game effectively three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the league, as they looked to continue an amazing run that had seen them win an astonishing 11 straight games. A legendary piece of Martin Tyler commentary accompanied Philippe Coutinho's match-winning goal against Manchester City two weeks prior on an emotional day at Anfield, and a Raheem Sterling inspired Liverpool had held off the challenge of Norwich to win 3-2 away from home the week before. The 11 game run also included home thumpings of Arsenal (5-1) and Everton (4-0), aswell as dramatic away wins over Stoke (3-5) and Cardiff City (3-6).
The day started brightly on Merseyside, with fans slowlying towards Anfield ahead of the 2:00pm kick-off. I take pride in saying I was there myself, cheering the Reds on that day despite the result. It had become something of a tradition as Liverpool got further and further into their title push, for the fans to line the streets and cheer as the team bus drove into the stadium, and it was no different that day. The streets outside Anfield were awash with Reds, as fans optimistically, rather than confidently, serenaded their team with chants of 'And now you're gonna' believe us, we're gonna' win the league.
Just past 1pm the teams were announced. Jose Mourinho had been threatening to send out the reserves all week, citing his sides upcoming Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid as his priority. It was by no means the Blues best 11, but it did contain the trophy winning experience of Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole, whilst Nemanja Matic and Andre Schurrle, who cost a combined £45million, started in midfield.
For Liverpool, injury prone Daniel Sturridge was once again troubled and could only make the bench, meaning the SAS partnership he had acquired with Luis Suarez wasn't in use until the second half at least. Local hero Jon Flanagan continued his surprising run in the first team at left back, whilst Jordan Henderson's suspension meant Steven Gerrard played with Lucas Leiva and Joe Allen in the centre of midfield.
As the clock ticked down to kick off, ex-Red Luis Garcia was welcomed onto the pitch, recieving a bellowing rendition of 'Luis Garcia, he drinks Sangria' from the home fans, before the game got underway. Garcia's presence was a reminder of better times for Liverpool, as he was the man who scored 'that goal' to send the Reds to the 2005 Champions League final at Chelsea's expense, and we all know what happened after that.
The game got underway at a packed Anfield, with the Liverpool fans creating a cauldron of noise. It was obvious what Chelsea wanted to do from an early stage, which was park the perennial bus. So often in the season had Liverpool's high tempo game blown teams away early on, and Mourinho knew this. The visitors wasted time from the get go, stifiling Liverpool's flow and looking to break up the game through whatever means possible, as you can see from the picture below.
When Liverpool did manage to get meaningful possession, their attempts to push forward were met by a deep and organised Chelsea defence, determined to spoil the party. Mamadou Sakho missed what was possibly the best chance of the first half, as Liverpool were unable to force reserve goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer into any difficult saves.
Then, as the first half rolled into the third minute of stoppage time, the unthinkable happened. Sakho played the ball across to his captain on the halfway line, only for Gerrard's poor touch to let him down, seeing him slip and let Demba Ba race through to open the scoring at the Kop end. The mother of all irony's, with the unfortunate error coming a week after Gerrard had rallied his troops to 'not let their lead slip'.
Bar the small section of Chelsea fans in the opposite corner, the ground fell silent for around 30 seconds. After that, the half time whistle went, with a chorus of Steven Gerrard's song burst out around Anfield as the players headed down the tunnel, in support of their captain.
If Liverpool's decision to go all out on the attack early on, rather than settle for a 0-0 draw that would have kept the title in their own hands, was a mistake by Brendan Rodgers, then maybe keeping Gerrard on the pitch was too.
It was clear as the second half went on that Gerrard's head was no longer in it, as the legendary midfielder continuously tried to make up for his mistake with unrealistic long range efforts, to no avail.
The introduction of Daniel Sturridge lifted the home fans, who were still making a tremendous noise, but a clearly unfit Sturridge failed to make the desired impact.
It was Joe Allen, perhaps the most unlikely of heroes, who came closest in the second half as his right-footed volley sprang Schwarzer into action, before a desperate effort from Luis Suarez in stoppage time came to no avail, the Australia 'keeper saving once more.
Time was slipping away and so were Liverpool's title hopes, and things were about to get worse. A sloppy Sturridge pass was intercepted, and none other than former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres was bearing down on goal. Groans were exchanged around the ground as Liverpool's fans accepted their fate, with cries of 'anyone but him' croaked of dejected mouths. Torres did oblige, deciding not to shoot at the last moment, instead squaring the ball for teammate Willian to tap into an empty net, but the damage was done. Chelsea ran out 2-0 winners, and Liverpool's title hopes were all but over. Jose Mourinho ran down the touchline gleefully, before leaving without as much as a handshake for former colleague Brendan Rodgers.
So, what was next? Well, Mourinho was labelled as a genius by some, and as a bore by others. Chelsea had won the battle, but Liverpool had won the war in the sense of finising above them, however it eventually counted for little. A slight source of relief for Liverpool fans came through Chelsea going on to lose their much anticipated semi final with Atletico Madrid, crashing out in Spain with a full strength team out.
Brendan Rodgers was clearly livid in his post match interview that day, arguing that only one side actually wanted to play football and win, angrily stating that it was boring and easy for Mourinho to set his sides up in such a defensive manner.
Liverpool's players were obviously gutted by the defeat, so much that Gerrard, whose mistake had cost the team, refused to go to the annual PFA Awards that night, such was his grief. Luis Suarez picked up the Premier League Player of the Year award thanks to his tally of 31 goals, but wouldn't be around much longer as he was sold to Barcelona for £75million in July, with a four month ban for biting at the World Cup hanging over his head.
The season would go from bad to worse or Liverpool the week after, as the Reds went 3-0 up away at Crystal Palace, only to attempt a miraculous catch up of Manchester City's goal differene tally, eventually leading to a capitulation which resulted in the game finishing 3-3. City took the title on the last day by defeating West Ham, and it was another case of so close yet so far for the Reds.
And here we are, one year on from that memorable day. Liverpool have by no means been able to get anywher near to repeating last season's heroics, having been knocked out of the Champions League, the competition they worked to hard to qualify for, in the group stages. They lie 5th in the Premier League and don't look like breaking into the top four once again, and Chelsea once again were the culprits of disappointment on L4 as the Londoners dumped Liverpool out of the Capital One Cup in January, before going on to win it themselves.
Questions have been raised about the future of Brendan Rodgers, and perhaps rightly so. Steven Gerrard is on his way out, and Liverpool have looked a shadow of the side that played such good football a year ago. But the thought remains...
What would have happened had Liverpool held out for a draw that day?