Liverpool vs QPR match report: Steven Gerrard saves his own blushes to score winner after seeing a penalty saved

Liverpool 2 QPR 1: Rangers near relegation after suffering defeat

Steven Gerrard celebrates his match-winning goal against QPR (Getty Images)

For Steven Gerrard the sensation would almost have been second nature, the swish of the ball striking the net, the roar of the Kop.

He would have known when he stood arms aloft at the corner of the Centenary Stand bathing in the applause that this would probably be the last goal he would score at Anfield, 16 years after the first in a 4-1 rout of Sheffield Wednesday.

Gerrard has ridden to Liverpool’s rescue in more dramatic circumstances than this. However, had he not headed his 184th goal for the club, Liverpool’s season would have continued to flicker and die while the pressure on their manager, Brendan Rodgers, would have continued to mount. Queens Park Rangers would not have needed to take a point from Manchester City next weekend to avoid relegation.

Before kick-off a plane that usually flies over Anfield to advertise the services of a “gentleman’s club” carried a banner that demanded: “Rodgers Out, Rafa In”. The thought of Benitez going back to Liverpool is somebody’s fantasy but the club’s owner, John W Henry, proved himself ruthless enough to fire Kenny Dalglish after a season that dribbled away with four defeats in the final six matches. Henry counted the fact that Dalglish had led Liverpool to two Wembley finals irrelevant to the wider picture.

A banner appears over Anfield calling for Brendan Rodgers to be sacked (Getty Images)

“I saw the plane; I thought Rafa’s agent was in it,” said Rodgers with a smile. “Football has short memories. This time last year I was sitting here nearly having won the league. I know that the size of this club means that many people are linked to this job.”

Gerrard presents Barton with a bouquet of flowers (Getty Images)

Rodgers had been preparing to take Gerrard off when his captain walked up to take a penalty, awarded when Nedum Onuoha had dragged down Martin Skrtel in ridiculous circumstances – a centre-half with his back to goal trying to meet Jordan Henderson’s corner was no kind of threat. Moments later, another challenge saw Onuoha sent off.

Rodgers told Lucas Leiva that he could come on once Gerrard had scored; except that he didn’t. Of all his penalties, this was one of the weakest, taken with a couple of steps at a comfortable height for Rob Green to save. “I changed my mind on the run-up,” Gerrard said. “The No 1 rule with penalties is you don’t change your mind – the last time I changed my mind I missed as well.” Rodgers then changed his mind about replacing his captain.

Philppe Coutinho gives Liverpool the lead (Getty Images)

“There were people behind me shouting to take him off,” he said. “There are players whose game goes when they miss a penalty but Steven is one of those who responds. He scores the big goals and makes the big contributions, he has done that throughout his career. This is a guy you cannot replace.”

For Queens Park Rangers this was no ordinary loss. The morning of the match had been scarred by the death of Rio Ferdinand’s wife, Rebecca Ellison, from breast cancer at the age of 34. Bill Shankly’s remark about football’s importance above life and death was never meant to be taken seriously. In a room with photographs of Shankly all around him, the QPR manager, Chris Ramsey, remarked that it was not just the defeat that had spread solemnity around the dressing room.

Leroy Fer scores QPR's equaliser (Getty Images)

“Everyone will tell you that as a man Rio has been fantastic,” he said. “He has come in and trained and kept everything to himself. He has not had the world on his shoulders, he has found the time to talk to the young players.

“We hope his family can find the strength to recover from this.”

When Leroy Fer volleyed home Joey Barton’s corner, it not only cancelled out Philippe Coutinho’s beautifully crafted opener, it emphasised some glaring Liverpool misses from first Adam Lallana and then Raheem Sterling, who somehow contrived to miss from six yards.

Steven Gerrard saw his penalty effort saved by Robert Green (Getty Images)

Fer pulled up his shirt to reveal a message to Ferdinand’s family, which stated simply “stay strong”. It would have been fitting had Queens Park Rangers stayed strong for the final 17 minutes of the game but their concentration, as it has done so often away from Loftus Road, failed them. The price for those lapses will be relegation come the end of the season.

Skrtel consoles Gerrard after his penalty is saved (Getty Images)

Line-ups:

Liverpool: (4-1-4-1) Mignolet; Can, Skrtel, Lovren, Johnson; Gerrard (Lucas, 89); Sterling, Henderson, Coutinho, Lallana (Ibe, 67); Lambert.

Queens Park Rangers: (4-4-1-1) Green; Onuoha, Dunne, Caulker (Yun, h-t), Hill; Phillips, Barton, Sandro, Henry (Zamora, 71); Fer; Austin.

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Man of the match: Gerrard (Liverpool)

Match rating: 6/10