"It still pains me" - Steven Gerrard confesses that infamous incident played a role in his Liverpool exit

Steven Gerrard has confessed that his infamous slip against Chelsea in 2014 that cost Liverpool the Premier League title played a role in him leaving the Reds for LA Galaxy in January 2015. Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap (via Mirror), the current Aston Villa manager discussed the events leading up to his Anfield exit, saying:

"It still pains me and as you say it is a bruise. It was a learning experience, it is something that I always will take responsibility for. That's the moment I look back on and think 'If only I'd got that right, it would be so much better'.

"It definitely flashes back, I think the reason why I always say that moment (as his lowest point) is because I don't want people to think I'm ignoring it. Unfortunately it happened to me at a real cruel time from a personal point of view."

He added:

"It definitely had an effect on me mentally for some time - I don't know whether it was months or years - still to this day it doesn't feel great. Time wise maybe that affect my decision to go to America. I think being in Liverpool, when you're in that routine, sometimes you've got to break free.

"I still wanted to enjoy my football, I still felt I had a few years left. I felt like the best thing for me, my family and the ending was to just go and reset. It wasn't off the back of that but probably where I was at, I'd say it had an influence."

Although it looked like the Reds would win the Premier League title back in 2014, Gerrard slipped up, allowing Chelsea a massive opportunity to score and win. It was the nearest the former Liverpool star ever got to winning the coveted English league title, but his unexpected fall at the last line of defense saw the dream crash.

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Liverpool's predicted lineup as they prepare to face Everton

With the Merseyside derby looming, Liverpool are expected to field a strong team against Everton in their Premier League clash despite European obligations. The Reds continue to chase their famous quadruple and the latest obstacle in their path is their relegation-threatened city rivals.

The Reds will potentially line up with Alisson in goal alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, and Andrew Robertson in defense. Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara, and Naby Keita will handle the midfield, while Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota, and Mohamed Salah will likely line up the attack.

Jurgen Klopp will hope his team can do the job and keep marching towards history as they hope to edge Manchester City to the league title. They are a point behind league leaders City and have reached the finals of the FA Cup and the semi-finals of the Champions League.