Steven Gerrard's contributions in Liverpool's hard-earned draw away at Premier League champions Chelsea demonstrated the skipper's continued importance to the team, said Brendan Rodgers.

The 34-year-old headed the Reds level just before half-time at Stamford Bridge, after John Terry had given the home side the lead in the early minutes.

The Reds went on to draw 1-1, as they failed to take advantage of their second-half dominance in the capital.

Gerrard had handed Rodgers' side the three points only eight days ago, flicking Philippe Coutinho's header in late on at home to QPR in a 2-1 victory - as he prepares to say farewell to his boyhood club.

The Liverpool captain has just two games remaining - the next of which his final game at Anfield - before he leaves for the United States to play for LA Galaxy, and his manager believes his absence will be felt for some time.

"I thought he was excellent, Stevie," said the Northern Irishman. "In the last couple of games he's got the winner [against QPR] and he's got the equaliser today.

"You see the importance he has to the team. He's taken a lot of stick here over numbers of years but I think the Chelsea supporters knew deep down it's only because he's a superstar player who's been a thorn in their side for many years. 

"He's travelled up and down this country for 15 years and it was nice for him to get that [ovation from the Chelsea fans]."

Gerrard has a fairytale career on Merseyside, representing the club he loves and winning all major silverware but the Premier League - which agonisingly evaded the experienced midfielder last term.

Rodgers hopes that though Gerrard's wisdom will be missed amongst his young side, that others step up to the plate to help fill the void that will be left when the captain departs.

"I’ve said before – he’s irreplaceable really, but we need to find the solutions one way or the other," Rodgers continued.

"Whether it is players coming in, players that are here taking the step forward. 

"That’s got to be crucial, because he’s a player that makes the big contributions when needed and has done for many years."

The Reds looked to be in for a miserable afternoon when Terry headed Jose Mourinho's men in-front in the early stages, but Rodgers insisted that after his side took a hold of the game - they could have taken all three points had they been more decisive in the final third.

He added: "I thought we started slowly and obviously we conceded a disappointing goal from a corner.

"Then we grew into the game and I think once we got the goal we started to find our passing and our rhythm much better and I thought second half we were outstanding. 

"We just lacked that finishing in and around the box to get the winner which we deserved in the second half.

"That’s obviously been the issue for us this season – our lack of goals has really hurt us.

"But the players have done absolutely everything. It’s been a long season for them and we want to finish it well."

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.