Steven Gerrard, who is on the brink of securing a summer move to the LA Galaxy, sent Liverpool safely into the FA Cup fourth roundon Monday night, scoring two goals that earned the Reds a 2-1 win at fourth division club AFC Wimbledon. The Liverpool captain opened and closed the scoring either side of AdebayoAkinfenwa’s equalizer; the winner coming from a free-kick in the 62nd minute.
After the game, Brendan Rodgers hailed Gerrard’s performance before targeting an FA Cupfinal win as the perfect send-off for the former England international, who announced last week that he would leave the only club he has ever played for at the end of the season. “I think the FACup final is on his birthday, so there would be no better way, for him. It would be a wonderful send-off for him,” Rodgers said. “There are a lot of games to play in between. If we coulddo it, it will be really special.”
The Reds boss added: “He was outstanding in the game, a brilliant individual performance from him and the real catalyst for us. It was a toughgame overall. In the second half we were much better, he scored two and probably if he was a really selfish player he would have stayed on the ball and got a hat-trick. He was outstanding buthe’s still trying to create opportunities for other players.”