Gerrard has right nerve to slot penalty against Celts
It was like old times for Steven Gerrard.
Pulling on the red shirt of his beloved Liverpool while plotting the downfall of old adversary Celtic.
And, if that wasn’t enough to whet the appetite, there was Sir Kenny Dalglish managing one of his former clubs against the other.
Anfield was awash with red and green as legends of both clubs came together to raise money for charitable causes, including the LFC Foundation and the Celtic Foundation.
There were plenty of echoes of past glories with star-studded line-ups.
Captain Stiliyan Petrov and Artur Boruc were back in Celtic shirts, while Scots Charlie Adam and Gary McAllister joined the likes of Steve McManaman for the home side.
Robbie Keane even took in both team talks before playing a half for each side.
Two clubs with shared history and an anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone – sung with gusto on all sides as 4,000 Celtic fans packed the away including plenty in the Kop too.
Former Rangers boss Gerrard was the star attraction – cast as the hero or the villain depending on your loyalties.
The Englishman was booed by Celtic fans with every touch of the ball and jeered with every misplaced pass – although, typically for the cultured midfielder, there wasn’t many of them. The Reds legend was to get his own back – taunting the Hoops faithful behind the goal after sending Boruc the wrong way from the penalty spot as he opened the scoring just before the break.
Later ex-Celtic boss and Reds assistant John Barnes insisted that Gerrard thanked the Celtic fans for supporting the cause, even though he got pelted by missiles during his goal celebration.
“Steven is a strong character,” said Barnes. “He handles things like that.
“He is a former Rangers manager but you also have Gary McAllister and Charlie Adam, so you know what’s going to happen. I think he’s pleased to put one in, though.
“Steven is one of the coolest guys, but I don’t think he would have felt as nervous as taking a penalty against Celtic in front of the Celtic fans.
“That is probably the most nervous he would have felt.”
Celtic gave as good as they got, with Keane going closest with a stooping header at the back-post, though they rued some dubious decisions, including two goals chopped off for offside and a late handball being turned down.
Boss Paul Lambert jokingly lamented the lack of VAR and added: “It was great, but I don’t like losing. Do I want to go back into football management? Yes, but until I saw some of the decisions and started to go off my head again.”
And in the week of the 20th anniversary since Celtic won at Anfield in the Uefa Cup on their way to the final, Petrov said: “Those memories stay with us all the time.
“For me to have opportunities like that is great. To be back here at Anfield after 20 years is really good for me.
“I cherish every moment of it – even if we lost.”