Liverpool v Chelsea: Five unforgettable moments
Liverpool host Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday in a game that could define the season for both sides.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are chasing Manchester City for the title, whilst Chelsea are in a battle with Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham to finish inside the top four.
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last twelve and Maurizio Sarri has turned it around of late for the Blues, having won three on the bounce.
Both teams are desperate for all three points, and there is no doubt this is going to be a huge game, but will it live as long in the memory as some of their previous encounters?
Here are five of the best:
2003: Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea - Last game of the Premier League season
Going into the last game of the season, Chelsea, whose owners were around £80m in debt, were fourth, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference.
Jesper Gronkjaer sealed a 2-1 win for the Blues with his 26th-minute strike, securing fourth and the final Champions League spot that season.
A few months later and Roman Abramovich would buy Chelsea for £140m and we’ve seen the difference that’s made to the club’s fortunes both on and off the pitch.
After heavy investment, Chelsea have won 18 honours under the Russian billionaire’s watch.
2005: Liverpool 2-3 Chelsea - League Cup final
Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea took on Rafa Bentiez’s Liverpool for a chance to lift the League Cup trophy.
It was Liverpool’s tenth appearance in the competition’s final, whilst Chelsea were only playing in their fourth.
John Arne Riise volleyed the Reds ahead after just 45 seconds, but an own goal by Steven Gerrard in the 79th-minute put Chelsea back in the match.
There was drama on the sidelines as well. Mourinho was sent off for taunting Liverpool fans after the goal, he watched his side go on to win in extra-time on TV.
It was the Portuguese manager’s first piece of silverware in charge of Chelsea.
2005: Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea - Champions League semi-final 2nd leg
The infamous ‘ghost goal’.
Luis Garcia remains a Liverpool legend for his all round ability to create, score and influence matches. He’s also the man that spooked ‘The Special One’.
The Spaniard put Liverpool in front with just four minutes played. Milan Baros beat Petr Cech to the ball and Garcia tapped it in, despite Chelsea claiming it hadn’t crossed the line.
William Gallas tried to clear it, but Garcia and his team-mates reeled away in celebration.
The replays didn’t make it any clearer, and with no VAR, it was down to the linesman who gave the goal which would dump Chelsea out of the Champions League in the semi-finals.
Liverpool would go onto to win the Champions League after beating AC Milan in the final in one of the most incredible comebacks in the competition’s history.
2013: Liverpool 2-2 Chelsea - Premier League
A game that will live long in the memory, the first time we all saw Luis Suarez take a bite out of another player.
Chelsea had taken the lead after an Eden Hazard penalty, which Suarez himself had conceded.
Then, after a Liverpool attack had fizzled out inside the Chelsea penalty area, the Uruguayan sunk his teeth into the arm of Branislav Ivanovic.
Suarez went on to score his 30th goal of the campaign and the equaliser in the 97th minute of the match.
The Uruguayan had been banned previously for seven games after he bit Otman Bakkal in 2010, and famously tried to do the same to Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, receiving a four month ban as a consequence.
The question is, will he bite again?
2014: Liverpool 0-2 Chelsea - Premier League
Liverpool’s biggest chance, except for maybe this season, to win the Premier League and it all came down to one slip.
Before kick-off Brendan Roger’s side sat at the top of the table and were aiming for their first championship for 24 years.
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard’s touch was loose before he slipped inside his own half, and Demba Ba pounced on his mistake and made him pay.
Gone was their three-point advantage and the title was out of their hands.
Chelsea fans were always quick to remind Gerrard of that moment before he retired. Never more so than his final appearance at Stamford Bridge.
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