Liverpool v Crystal Palace: Premier League - as it happened

http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2015/may/16/liverpool-v-crystal-palace-premier-league-live

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7.27pm BST19:27

Anfield rises as one to salute Gerrard as he jogs off. Not for the first time in the last 12 months or so, there’ll be quite some inner turmoil going on. But he keeps a brave face on it. And let’s face it, things could be worse. He’s off to live in LA for a start, and those In-N-Out Burgers taste damn fine. Also, his time at Anfield hasn’t been too shoddy. Once more with feeling: three League Cups. Two FA Cups. Two Super Cups. One Charity Shield. One Uefa Cup. Three seasons as Liverpool’s top goalscorer. 41 individual awards, including an OBE. 709 appearances and 185 goals. And the most famous Champions League final of all. OK, we’ve also got to factor in one famous slip, a splattering of rash tackles, a few hundred Hollywood passes whistled straight into the stands - and now a farewell party spoiled. But hey, nobody’s perfect.

7.23pm BST19:23

FULL TIME: Liverpool 1-3 Crystal Palace

And the curtain comes down on Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool career at Anfield. He looks crestfallen, but allows himself a wry smile too. Palace deserved their victory - which completes their first-ever league double over the Reds. Hey, it was always going to be a historic day.

7.22pm BST19:22

90 min +4: A corner for Liverpool down the left, and it’s cleared easily by Palace. A defiant Anfield sing loud and long of their love for Steven Gerrard. In some ways, the scoreline doesn’t matter. At least that’s what they’ll be telling themselves right now.

7.20pm BST19:20

90 min +3: “Palace should have let Stevie take that penalty,” quips Simon McMahon.

7.20pm BST19:20

90 min +2: We’re in the second of four added minutes. Lucas’s challenge on Zaha for the penalty was outside the box, but only just, and cynical enough that he can’t really complain. To be fair, he didn’t complain.

7.19pm BST19:19

GOAL! Liverpool 1-3 Crystal Palace (Murray 90+1)

Murray’s penalty, towards the bottom left, is weak and parried by Mignolet. But the ball rebounds to the striker, who taps it home. What a performance this has been by Crystal Palace!

Updated at 7.35pm BST

7.18pm BST19:18

90 min: Penalty for Palace! Zaha dances into the area from the left. Lucas sticks his foot out, and Zaha goes over it. Gerrard, in the midfield, allows his head to fall.

7.17pm BST19:17

88 min: Palace are an inch or so from putting this one to bed. Puncheon jigs in from the right, twists and turns in the area, and shoots low towards the bottom-right corner. Mignolet gets a hand to the shot, but only parries to Murray, who from a tight angle sends the ball towards the empty net. Skrtel comes across to spin in mid-air and hack clear. Is that over the line? Probably not, and it doesn’t matter anyway, because Murray was offside. A two-goal lead would be no more than Palace deserve.

7.15pm BST19:15

87 min: Moreno is replaced by Sinclair. Anfield is anxious. This hasn’t gone to plan for the home side at all. Palace have been by far the better side.

7.14pm BST19:14

86 min: Sterling works away down the left, and draws a foul from Puncheon. Free kick to Liverpool. Coutinho scuffs the set piece. It bounces all the way through to Hennessey, with the box loaded. You could hit that ball another 99 times, and either an attacker or defender would meet that one.

7.12pm BST19:12

84 min: Sterling blazes past Ward on the outside, down the left, then goes down in the box claiming a penalty, but there’s not enough contact for that. Palace go upfield, Mutch getting involved in some minor nonsense and picking up a booking.

7.11pm BST19:11

83 min: From a Palace corner, Liverpool stream upfield, Can making off down the right. McArthur steps across the man to put a stop to that nonsense, and he goes in the book.

7.10pm BST19:10

82 min: The effervescent Bolasie is replaced by Murray.

7.09pm BST19:09

81 min: Moreno romps into a lot of space down the left. He does his job, rolling a perfectly weighted pass inside for Gerrard, on the edge of the D. The Kop groans as he blocks an awful effort miles to the left. It’s just not happening for him, or for Liverpool. Story of their season.

7.08pm BST19:08

79 min: Ward is booked for coming straight through the back of Sterling, deep in the Liverpool half. Possibly not totally necessary. “To all those who feel Crystal Palace aren’t sticking to the Gerrard narrative, they need to be reminded that ‘Pardiola’ is also a narrative,” writes Travis Giblin. “And a fantastic narrative it is!”

7.06pm BST19:06

78 min: Gerrard is playing up front now. All pretence to team shape is gone: he knows what everyone wants. And why not.

7.05pm BST19:05

77 min: Sterling is bowled over, the best part of 30 yards from goal. Gerrard tries to recreate the fine free kick he scored earlier in the season against Basel, one of the club’s few high points in the Champions League. Nope: it’s high and wide.

Updated at 7.19pm BST

7.04pm BST19:04

76 min: Mutch comes on for Chamakh.

7.04pm BST19:04

75 min: Coutinho chips a free kick down the middle of the park and into the heart of the Palace area. Lambert goes down under a challenge from Ward, a wee shove in the back, and claims the penalty Liverpool are so desperate for. But he’s not getting it. Then there’s a game of rat-a-tat pinball in the Palace area. Half-chances for Coutinho, Gerrard and Lambert to have snap shots, but everyone’s over-thinking it. Palace clear again.

7.02pm BST19:02

74 min: Gerrard chips a pass into the area down the right for Can, who should shoot. But this is a team severely lacking in confidence, and he tries to nip the ball inside for Coutinho. Palace are able to hack out for a corner, and they deal with the set piece easily enough.

7.01pm BST19:01

72 min: ... Liverpool break upfield with purpose. Coutinho rolls the ball down the inside-right channel, and finds Sterling, who attempts a first-time pass inside for Gerrard. The Liverpool captain would have been clear on goal, but just as everyone was dreaming of an ersatz version of the famous Terry McDermott end-to-end goal of 1978, the underhit ball inside is intercepted by Dann.

6.59pm BST18:59

71 min: Bolasie is a constant menace to this ragged Liverpool back line. He bursts down the left channel, but his pass to the wing for Zaha is loose and lets Liverpool off the hook. But they still earn a throw, and from that, thanks to the persistence of Souare, a corner. From which ...

6.57pm BST18:57

69 min: Henderson twists and turns down the inside-left channel, just outside the Palace box. He looks to scoop a shot into the top right, with not much backlift, and digs one out well enough, but it’s always going wide right.

6.56pm BST18:56

67 min: Sterling’s gallop is halted as he jinks down the left. A chance for Liverpool to load the box, but Henderson’s delivery is poor. Palace make off up the other end, and they’re indebted to Can for stopping Bolasie as he tears down the inside-left channel, threatening to break clear into the area. Palace are magnificent. Liverpool are in panicked tatters.

6.54pm BST18:54

66 min: Palace should be out of sight. Bolasie swats Moreno away down the right, and powers into the area. After a quick twist and turn, he twangs the crossbar with a slap-bass effort of a shot. The ball flies into the air and away. So unlucky!

6.53pm BST18:53

65 min: A double change for Liverpool: Ibe and Lallana off, Lucas and Lambert on.

6.53pm BST18:53

64 min: Sterling makes a bit of room down the right, and cuts the ball back for ... Gerrard, who very nearly guides a shot from 25 yards into the bottom-right corner. It’s read well by Hennessey, who would have been disappointed to let that one in.

6.51pm BST18:51

62 min: Zaha should be high on life, but he rather stupidly kicks out at Henderson, clipping his heels. No booking, but you’ve seen punishments of various types dished out for that.

6.51pm BST18:51

61 min: Looking at the replay of that goal, both Zaha and Kelly, also in the middle, were a tad offside. Liverpool are within their rights to complain about that, and yet this scoreline is everything Palace deserve. They’ve been magnificent. Liverpool’s defence is an awful mess. They struggle to clear a Palace corner down the right, then a free kick from the left. But they manage it just about.

6.48pm BST18:48

GOAL! Liverpool 1-2 Crystal Palace (Zaha 60)

What a substitution! Bolasie bursts into the box down the right. He whips a low ball into the six-yard box, past a flailing Mignolet and Can. Zaha, coming in from the left, taps home into an empty net. He’s only been on the field 22 seconds! But that goal had been coming.

Updated at 7.11pm BST

6.46pm BST18:46

59 min: Palace swap Lee, who has been mightily impressive since the restart, with Zaha. Meanwhile here’s Matt Dony, with a list of things that make him cry: “Kate Bush’s parts in Don’t Give Up. David wishing on the blue fairy for 10,000 years in AI. Knowing Gerrard won’t be running out at Anfield anymore. I haven’t cared about the league for weeks, but come on 30-yard screamer! Gerrard should spend the second half with a ‘shoot-on-sight’ policy. Why the hell not?”

6.45pm BST18:45

56 min: And having said that, of course it’s Liverpool who nearly score. Moreno goes on a skitter down the left. He pulls one across the front of the box, and it’s met by Henderson, rushing in. Henderson connects, but not particularly well, the ball squirting wide left of the target, Hennessey with his feet planted, unable to move. That would have been a good one for Gerrard, you feel.

6.43pm BST18:43

55 min: Bolasie breaks into the Liverpool box down the right. There are more yellow shirts in the middle than red ones, so Bolasie’s needless dragging back of Skrtel is a bit daft. If anyone’s scoring a second goal on the early evidence of this half, it’s Crystal Palace.

6.42pm BST18:42

54 min: Palace are the better side. Again. Chamakh and Lee work the inside-right channel well, and only a timely interception by Skrtel stops Lee breaking clear on goal. “I don’t want to put a downer on events, but was Gerrard really that good?” wonders Dundee United obsessive Simon McMahon. “A poor man’s Eamonn Bannon in my opinion.” Perhaps. Looking at it another way, Chelsea fans sing more songs about Gerrard than their own Blanchflower-era midfield maestro, so it’s swings and roundabouts in terms of legacy down this way.

6.40pm BST18:40

52 min: Chamakh, down the inside-right channel, shuttles the ball on for Bolasie, who slips it left for Lee. Lee slams a wild shot wide left of goal, when he really had to get something on target from 12 yards. Liverpool go up the other end, Sterling rolling a pass in from the left for Coutinho, who from 25 yards blasts a shot over the crossbar and deep into the Kop.

6.39pm BST18:39

50 min: Well, if Liverpool should have had a penalty in the first half, it’s all level now. Bolasie has a shot from a tight angle down the left. It hits Skrtel’s arm. Penalty? Perhaps it should be, but no. Then Lee takes up the loose ball, and looks to burst past Skrtel on the outside. He’s clipped by a clumsy challenge. But Palace aren’t getting that one either!

6.37pm BST18:37

49 min: Coutinho scoops a pass down the middle, and it looks like Henderson’s chested it down on the penalty spot, ready to score. But he can’t quite get a shot away, Souare sticking to him like glue. Ibe tries to do something with the loose ball, but can only smash it into the side netting from the right. “Might Stevie’s trophy cabinet be a bit fuller had he grown a proper pair of sideburns, instead of the close-cropped look he’s sported unwaveringly over the years?” wonders Grant Tennille, talking like some sort of draft-dodging beatnik. “He’s shared the passion, the ability, and the dedication of his more decorated (facially and otherwise) predecessors; it’s always seemed like a missing link between him and the club’s glory years. Nothing too wild even, just a hint of devil-may-care à la Emlyn Hughes might’ve done the trick. Sigh. We’ll never know. Still, hats off to the man in all his buttoned-down, no-nonsense glory.”

6.35pm BST18:35

47 min: Puncheon cuts in from the right and lashes a shot miles over the bar, and wide left to boot, from 25 yards. He had Lee free in acres on the left. Liverpool may well spend this half living dangerously, as they look for the victory - and the Gerrard fairytale goal. God knows how this one’s going to pan out.

6.34pm BST18:34

The second half gets under way!

Liverpool stream with purpose towards the Kop, straight from kick off, and lose the ball within four seconds. Palace flood up the other end, Ledley attempting to trap Bolasie’s left-wing cross on the edge of the area. If his control was better, he’d have been one on one with Mignolet!

6.22pm BST18:22

Advertising break: From the year of Steven Gerrard’s birth. Bookassettes. There’s a word that never really took off.

6.19pm BST18:19

HALF TIME: Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace

And that’s that for the first half. The teams are on level terms, which doesn’t fit the Gerrard Fairytale Narrative, but seems about right. Palace have been the better team in attack, in fact, though Liverpool will point to the Ledley-Sterling incident a couple of minutes before Puncheon’s excellent equaliser. Don’t go away, y’all: for a start, it’s finely balanced, and Stevie’s not going to be around for very much longer!

Updated at 6.19pm BST

6.16pm BST18:16

45 min: That goal is no more than Palace deserve on the balance of play. The away support are making all the noise now.

6.15pm BST18:15

GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace (Puncheon 43)

Puncheon steps up and whips the free kick, to the left of the D, across the wall and into the right-hand side of the net! Not sure what Mignolet was doing there, but that’s a magnificent free kick from Puncheon’s point of view, because the angles weren’t in favour of a left-footer there at all. He’s a superb player.

Updated at 6.28pm BST

6.13pm BST18:13

42 min: Bolasie bombs down the inside-left channel, and is bowled over by Can. Free kick, just outside the area, and a booking. And from the free kick ...

6.13pm BST18:13

40 min: Coutinho attempts to release Gerrard into the area with a pitching wedge of a pass down the left channel. The groans rattle off the stadium as the ball is blocked. Then Ledley batters into the back of Sterling, as the pair contest a loose ball, and everyone’s bellowing for a penalty. That’s not going to happen either. You’ve certainly seen those given. There goes a chance for Gerrard to score that fairytale goal.

6.08pm BST18:08

37 min: Coutinho and Sterling swarm up and down the inside-left channel, very nearly opening Palace up with some fancy footwork. Coutinho’s eventually afforded a little space, but dithers as he contemplates a curler into the top-right corner for far too long.

6.06pm BST18:06

35 min: Palace are battering away at the door here. A corner down the left. The ball’s worked to Lee, who is in space on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box, but blooters an appalling volley out for a throw on the right. Liverpool are living very dangerously here. I wonder what Gerard Houllier, Gerrard’s first manager and in the crowd tonight, thinks of this defensive display? I’ve got a fair idea.

6.05pm BST18:05

33 min: Sterling cuts in from the right, but his shot from the edge of the box is only at 50% velocity, and is swallowed easily by Hennessey. Palace strut off down the other end, and Puncheon, working the inside-right channel, tries to thread a low, diagonal shot into the bottom-left corner. It’s going in, but Mignolet drops to get a firm hand on the ball. Great save, especially as there was a big deflection off Skrtel’s heels.

6.03pm BST18:03

32 min: Palace Should Be Level pt.II. The excellent Puncheon goes on a sashay down the middle of the park. Nobody in red can get a tackle in. Puncheon slips the ball to the right, where Bolasie is in acres down the inside-right channel. Again Palace’s finishing isn’t all that, and he scores three rugby points with the conversion. The visitors are playing very well here.

6.02pm BST18:02

30 min: Liverpool decide - perhaps sensibly, and it served them well last year, after all - that the best form of defence is attack. They flood forward, pressing Palace back. Coutinho nudges the ball from the left to the edge of the Palace D, only to see his shot blocked at source. Ibe romps down the right, reaches the byline, and pulls back a gorgeous ball, but none of his team-mates are on the front foot to respond. Palace hack clear.

5.59pm BST17:59

28 min: Palace should be level. Bolasie brushes Moreno off the ball down the Palace right, and goes romping down the wing. He fizzes a low cross into the six-yard box. Can, facing the wrong way but with Chamakh lurking, manufactures a backheel to clear the ball, albeit only to Ledley, rushing into the area, unchallenged. He’s got to score, but belts a wild effort over the bar. What an escape for Liverpool. Despite the scoreline, Palace have been the better side so far.

5.57pm BST17:57

GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Crystal Palace (Lallana 26)

Palace were on top, but then they’re the architects of their own downfall. Kelly, formerly of Liverpool, passes inside to Dann from the Palace right. It’s a loose ball, though, and allows Lallana to race off down the inside-right channel. He’s clear, and lashes a wonderful shot across Hennessey and into the top left. Gerrard’s farewell is going to plan right now!

Updated at 6.05pm BST

5.56pm BST17:56

25 min: Palace are on top here. Chamakh contests a header with Lovren down the Palace right. Well, he uses his head, but the oft-hapless Lovren uses his boot. Free kick. Lee hoicks the ball into the Liverpool box. To be fair to Lovren, he clears with a header, although only to Puncheon, who should shoot from the edge of the box, but hesitates and the chance is gone.

5.54pm BST17:54

24 min: Bolasie twists and turns down the left, cuts back to the edge of the area, and has a pelt with a view to scoring in the top-right corner. Skrtel, stooping, deflects the ball out for a corner on the right. The set piece is eventually cleared, but only after a slapstick moment which sees Coutinho attempt an overhead clearance only to bicycle-kick fresh air!

5.53pm BST17:53

21 min: Puncheon holds the ball up on the right-hand edge of the Liverpool box, then sends Ward away with an exquisite back-heel. Ward reaches the byline and overhits a cross straight through the area, with Chamakh free in the middle. Here’s Peter Oh: “About never walking alone, even in LA. Missing Persons said it best: Nobody - or only a nobody - walks in LA!”

5.50pm BST17:50

19 min: Ibe and Lallana faff around in quite a bit of space down the right. Henderson gets involved and injects a little pace, bursting in from deep and pinging a one-two with Lallana, before making it into the box down the channel. He shapes to shoot, but the ball’s blocked out for a corner, which proves to be a complete waste of time.

5.48pm BST17:48

17 min: Puncheon goes on a remarkable run, from the right wing to the left-hand corner of the Liverpool box, before slipping a ball to the wing for Souare. The full-back’s cross is too near Mignolet, and plucked from the sky by the keeper, but that threatened to open Liverpool up there. I wonder whether Puncheon should have had a shot, just as he reached the left-hand side of the D? He’s one of the players of the season, Puncheon, a fine talent.

5.46pm BST17:46

15 min: Lallana jigs down the right, and is yanked back by Ledley. Free kick, level with the edge of the box, and a chance to load the box. Gerrard whips it into the area, and Skrtel clanks his header out for a goal kick. Or did that come off a Palace man last? Either way, Skrtel doesn’t get the decision.

5.44pm BST17:44

13 min: Ward goes sliding in hectically on Moreno. It’s a hellish lunge, but he’s hurdled by the full-back. Moreno’s adroit leap has probably saved the Palace man going in the book there.

5.43pm BST17:43

11 min: Henderson, down the left, swings a diagonal ball to Ibe on the right. A Gerrard pastiche on this very special day. The ball flies into the stand, which ensures the moment has something for everyone, regardless of who you support.

5.40pm BST17:40

9 min: All a bit shapeless, this, much like Liverpool’s season. Bolasie briefly threatens to break down the inside-right channel, but Moreno steps across him and passes the ball back to Mignolet.

5.38pm BST17:38

7 min: An aeroplane drags a banner over Anfield: IN RODGERS WE TRUST. There’s nice. It’s in the style of the old World of Sport titles, which is lovely too. But whatever happened to football fans expressing their love/anger through the medium of song? That plane company is grifting a lot of eejits with more money than sense.

Updated at 5.39pm BST

5.36pm BST17:36

5 min: Coutinho goes on a determined meander down the inside-left channel, Henderson having won the ball off Palace with some trademark pestering. Corner. The set piece comes to nothing. Liverpool are on the front foot in the early exchanges.

5.34pm BST17:34

3 min: The Palace fans ensure the event doesn’t become too saccharine. “Three nil, and you fucked it up,” they joyously trill, of last May’s events at Selhurst Park. Hey, two teams in attendance here, after all.

5.33pm BST17:33

2 min: Gerrard’s first touch of the ball, a rake down the inside-right channel which isn’t a million miles away from releasing Sterling into space.

5.32pm BST17:32

And we're off!

After a particularly heartfelt belt of You’ll Never Walk Alone - not even in LA, la - Palace kick off, and we’re down to business. The away side are kicking towards the Kop in the first half, which is how Liverpool want it. A lovely sunny day at Anfield. The early exchanges are all a bit frantic, Lallana making off down the right to little effect.

5.28pm BST17:28

The players are out! Jordan Henderson leads Liverpool onto the pitch. That’s because both teams will form a guard of honour for tonight’s main man. Gerrard hangs back in the tunnel, below the famous This Is Anfield sign, with his three daughters. Then he takes to the stage, high-fiving each of the Palace players as he does so. The lid comes off the old stadium. Bedlam, bedlam, bedlam. “Steve Gerrard, Gerrard,” the crowd sing. You know, the original version. It’s an emotional cauldron, but that’s Liverpool Football Club for you. Liverpool are wearing their famous all-red kit, while Crystal Palace, who are good enough to be serious party-poopers here this evening, sport their Brazilian away number. We’ll be off in a minute!

Updated at 5.51pm BST

5.18pm BST17:18

It’s a rare old atmosphere at Anfield, much as you’d expect. Gerrard embarks on a few shuttle runs to warm up, then comes over to chat to the chaps from Sky Sports, who are in front of the Kop. He’s asked how he’s feeling and replies, his voice barely audible over the wild cheers emanating from the famous old end: “Yeah I’m OK.” He’s never been bad at the old deadpan understatement, has Steve Gerrard. A hug for both Jamie Carragher and Jamie Redknapp, and he’s off to the dressing room to hear his very last pre-match team-talk at Anfield.

Updated at 5.55pm BST

5.02pm BST17:02

The players turn up. Here they come, ready for one of the biggest meaningless games in Premier League history.

4.49pm BST16:49

Imagine if Brendan Rodgers had dropped Gerrard! That would have been quite the prank. But of course not. All eyes are on the captain, as he runs out at Anfield for the very last time, but there’s still a match to be won or lost. There had been rumours that Mamadou Sakho, who Liverpool have missed desperately, was in line to return from injury. But that’s not happened. Instead, it’s another run-out for the back four of Emre Can, Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren and Alberto Moreno. Or is it a back three, with Moreno and Jordan Ibe as a wing-backs? Or a back five, not that I’m entirely sure what the difference is supposed to be? Liverpool could end up doing it all at some point during the match, if the FA Cup semi-final is anything to go by. Ach, never mind the defence, they’ll be sent out to attack, attack, attack, in the hope of giving their departing hero something to smile about.

As for Palace, they ring the changes from the side which last weekend could have easily beaten Manchester United. Julian Speroni, Damien Delaney, Mile Jedinak, Wilfried Zaha and Glenn Murray all drop to the bench, with Wayne Hennessey, Jason Puncheon, Lee Chung-Yong, Marouane Chamakh and former LFC star Martin Kelly all making the move in the other direction. That’s some mighty impressive rotation of a small squad.

4.33pm BST16:33

The teams

Liverpool: Gerrard.Supporting cast: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Lovren, Ibe, Henderson, Moreno, Coutinho, Sterling, Lallana.Subs: Johnson, Toure, Lambert, Lucas, Allen, Sinclair, Ward.

Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Ward, Dann, Kelly, Souare, Puncheon, Ledley, McArthur, Lee, Chamakh, Bolasie.Subs: Speroni, Campbell, Zaha, Jedinak, Murray, Mutch, Delaney.

Referee: Jonathan Moss (W Yorkshire)

Updated at 4.33pm BST

4.10pm BST16:10

Doing One: a pre-match triptych.

Updated at 4.26pm BST

4.00pm BST16:00

The beginning of the end

It’s the end of an era: Steven Gerrard’s final appearance at Anfield. And ever since an 18-year-old from Whiston came on for Vegard Heggem in the last minute of a routine 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in November 1998, it’s been some era. Three League Cups. Two FA Cups. Two Super Cups. One Charity Shield. One Uefa Cup. Three seasons as Liverpool’s top goalscorer. 41 individual awards, including an OBE. 708 appearances so far. 185 goals (two of them against Crystal Palace). And the most famous Champions League final of all. OK, there’s also one famous slip, a splattering of rash tackles, and a few hundred Hollywood passes whistled straight into the stands to factor in as well. But hey, nobody’s perfect.

It’s fair to say it’ll be emotional tonight. A state of affairs which, depending on who you support, will either bring a lump to your throat or stick in the craw. But it is what it is. So let’s leave the cynicism at the door, and learn to love each other. What’s that? A pipe dream, you say? Well, possibly. But let’s give it a go. Come in from the cold, reach into your heart, and give the man a hug!

Liverpool will be desperate for the win this evening, to send their famous son off to the USA (via Stoke-on-Trent on the last day of the season) with one final memory to gladden his heart. A win will also secure fifth spot for the Reds and guarantee participation in next year’s Europa League, a competition nobody round these parts should be sniffy about; they’re three-time winners of Uefa’s second competition after all. Crystal Palace meanwhile have lost four on the bounce, but Liverpool beware: they were excellent in defeat against Manchester United last week; are the fifth-highest scorers on the road this season, with only Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Spurs doing any7 better; and that losing sequence has to end sometime, right?

The FA Cup finalists Aston Villa have already put paid to one Gerrard end-of-season fairytale. Can Palace scribble over the last page of another? It’s going to be a blast finding out. Hankies at the ready: it’s on!

Kick off: 5.30pm.

Updated at 4.08pm BST