Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has lifted the lid on his experience of Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip against Chelsea in 2014.
The 28-year-old was sidelined by suspension for the class with Jose Mourinho’s side, meaning that he could only watch on as Demba Ba raced through to net against the Reds.
Now he has revealed his perspective on the incident: “I was sat in the stand,” he told the Liverpool Echo. “My emotions were no good, I was on edge big time.
“I could sense it with the crowd too when they were wasting time in the first few minutes. It wasn’t nice to watch. Chelsea went to do a job and they done it well. I’m not a good watcher anyway. It was a tough time to miss those games at a crucial time. I’m more nervous watching than when I’m actually on the pitch.”
OPINION
You hear many footballers saying that they are more nervous watching than playing, probably because they cannot influence proceedings when they are on the bench or in the stands. For Henderson, then, watching Gerrard’s slip must have been a nightmare. It was the moment that saw the Reds’ title challenge go up in smoke and the former Sunderland man couldn’t do anything about it. That must have been immensely frustrating. Henderson is right about the atmosphere on the day of the Chelsea game, though. It was a very nervy atmosphere that day and perhaps it crept through to the Liverpool players in some capacity. Whether that is what caused Gerrard’s slip or not is unknown, although it was probably a purely physical incident. He lost his footing and that was that, Ba finished it off well. It must have been a very difficult time for Henderson to be watching on as his teammates challenged for the title, with this particular incident surely being the worst to witness.
