#5 Andy Gray – Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) vs Olympiakos – Champions League Group Game 2004
Trending
The game was a must win for Liverpool even though it was in the group stages. The Reds needed to win by at least two clear goals to progress from the group and only two teams had beaten Olympiakos that season until then.
The match saw Liverpool play some scintillating football with a Milan Baros goal being ruled out and Sami Hyypia glance a header just wide. Then in the 26th minute, an ageing Rivaldo struck a free kick in the Liverpool net and they thought it was all over.
In a substiution, that sort of changed the game, Rafa Benitez bring on Florent Sinama Pongolle after the break. His impact was instant as he scored right after the break to make the scores 1-1. After that, Neil Mellor gave Liverpool the lead with 10 minutes remaining after the Olympiakos keeper failed to clear an Antonio Nunez shot. Then followed a Gerrard special and one his career defining moments at Liverpool.
When Steven Gerrard hits the ball, it stays hit. And that was the case against the Greek club back in 2004. The Englishman has scored some belters throughout his career and when he claims this one to be ‘one of the best goals he has ever scored’, you know the commentary has to match that.
Thankfully Andy Gray made sure it did. With his “Oh yaa beauty…what a shit son…what a hit”, he made sure that along with this goal, his epic background noise will also go down in history.
There was a lot riding on the match and if Gerrard did not score then Liverpool would’ve never made it out of the group stage and never would have won the Champions League on ‘that night in Istanbul’. Certainly a memorable season for Liverpool and Steven Gerrard.
Full-time score – Liverpool 3-1 Olympiakos
For more articles like this and all news related to the wide world of football, please click here.
