Despite their successful history, Liverpool have experienced their fair share of embarrassing moments. Here are nine of Anfield’s most cringeworthy.
1) The beachball goal
No Sunderland and Liverpool encounter can be discussed without mention of the now infamous beachball goal, ‘scored’ by the Black Cats’ Darren Bent on 17th October 2009. Sunderland striker Bent’s attempt at goal looked to be heading straight into goalkeeper Pepe Reina’s grasp, until the freakishly anomalous deflection off a beachball – thrown to the field of play by a Liverpool fan.
2) Djimi Traore’s own goal
In the midst of Liverpool’s Champions League winning season of 2004-05, the FA Cup Third Round paired the Premier League giants with then Championship outfit Burnley. The game’s most memorable moment arrived when Reds defender Djimi Traore scored a rather humorous own goal whilst attempting a drag-back just yards in front of the goal line. Traore may always be remembered for the faux-par.
3) Signing Andy Carroll
In a seemingly frantic end to the 2011 January transfer window, Liverpool signed Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll and offloaded prolific goal-getter Fernando Torres to Chelsea for a staggering £50m. Whilst Suarez proved to be an inspired piece of business, the same could not be said for Carroll – who, at £35m, became Liverpool’s most expensive player. Carroll, whose style of play failed to sync with Liverpool’s, scored just 6 Premier League goals for the Reds before falling out of favour and joining West Ham United for £15m.
4) Supporting Suarez
In Liverpool players, and manager Kenny Dalglish, vehemently defended talismanic forward Suarez following the charge of racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra – including wearing T-shirts in support of the Uruguayan striker during the team warm-up ahead of a Premier League clash with Wigan Athletic.
5) Steven Gerrard’s last game for Liverpool
Arguably the club’s greatest ever player, Steven Gerrard was almost single-handedly responsible for many of Liverpool’s successes during Rafa Benitez’s reign as manager. Gerrard, after coming so close to a first Premier League title win in the 2013-14 season, faded during the disappointing last year of his time at Anfield. Gerrard’s final appearance for Liverpool was in an embarrassing 6-1 away defeat to Stoke City – and, of course, it was Gerrard who fittingly scored Liverpool’s solitary goal.
6) The Rosenthal
In the 1990s, doing ‘The Rosenthal’ was synonymous with missing an open goal when it was easier to score. That is exactly what Liverpool forward Ronny Rosenthal infamously did in a 1992 Premier League game against Aston Villa.
7) The Gerrard to Chelsea saga
Shortly after lifting the 2005 Champions League trophy, club captain Gerrard announced that he would not accept a new contract offer and wanted to leave Anfield – presumably to join Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea revolution. This not only came as a huge disappointment to Kopites everywhere, but also culminated in embarrassment for Gerrard – who later renounced his desire to join Chelsea, instead remaining at the club for a further ten years.
8) Mario Balotelli
Signing Mario Balotelli was undeniably embarrassing for Liverpool. Signed by Brendan Rodgers, or the transfer committee – depending on who you believe – Balotelli cut a forlorn figure from day one at Anfield. Rodgers’ Liverpool were famed for their high press, pace and work rate from the likes of Suarez, Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho; but the Italian international forward was the antithesis of these traits during his ill-fated spell on Merseyside.
9) Rafa Benitez and his facts
The 2008-09 season saw a strong Liverpool team, including the midfield trio of Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano behind the goal machine that was Fernando Torres, top the Premier League for stages of the campaign. Indeed, with Liverpool in first position heading into the second half of the season, manager Benitez gave a now notorious rant – in which the current Newcastle United boss stated numerous ‘facts’ about title rival Sir Alex Ferguson and his Manchester United side. Ironically, in amongst the mania of the rant, Benitez may have actually been factually accurate.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
