Article body analysed
By YASEEN ZAMAN Published: 04: 01 AEDT, 23 March 2025 | Updated: 05: 17 AEDT, 23 March 2025 25 View comments Peter Crouch wound back the clock during Liverpool Legends vs Chelsea Legends, scoring a brace in the Reds' 2-0 win and pulling out his iconic robot celebration for the opener. Saturday's fixture commemorated Chelsea's 2004-05 season, which saw them claim their first-ever Premier League and first top-flight title in 50 years, as well as the EFL Cup having beaten Liverpool in the final. The two teams also faced off in the Champions League semi-final that season, with the Reds claiming victory over two legs. Some notable names on either side included Gianfranco Zola, Claude Makelele, William Gallas, Steven Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt and Crouch. Sir Kenny Dalglish managed the Liverpool Legends squad, while the Chelsea Legends were led by Roberto Di Matteo. And, at 44 years old, Crouch looked like he had not lost a step. The 6ft 7in former striker got on the end of a cross from Florent Sinama-Pongolle, as he climbed high to head the ball into the back of the net and make it 1-0. Crouch celebrated jubilantly in front of the Kop, even whipping out his iconic robot celebration, which he also performed when he scored his 100th Premier League goal while playing for Stoke in 2017. The finish and THAT celebration ? @AXA | #Ad pic. twitter. com/i7x RP1o6Yz Peter Crouch wound back the years during Liverpool Legends 2-0 win over Chelsea Legends The 6ft 7in ex-striker scored both of the Reds' goals and pulled out his iconic robot celebration Crouch performed the same moves when he scored his 100th Premier League goal in 2017 Shortly after, the Englishman made it a second-half brace when he doubled his side's lead in the 66th minute. Crouch got up above Robert Huth but failed to make a clean contact with Mark Gonzalez's deep cross from the left. However, the ball fell nicely for him and he was able to lob the keeper with his right foot. After the game, Liverpool's players went on a lap of honour around Anfield, which was still almost full. Speaking at full-time, Crouch revealed the emotion behind returning to Anfield, wearing a shirt in which he made 85 appearances and scored 22 goals between 2005 and 2008. Despite being a boyhood Chelsea fan, Crouch's 21-year-long career as a journeyman, which saw him play for 12 different clubs, never led him to Stamford Bridge. Crouch said: 'It's quite emotional really because I never thought I'd come back here [Anfield] in any capacity as a player. 'So to play in the game was amazing, first and foremost for the Foundation, but to score a couple of goals in front of my family and friends it was amazing. ' The charity match was presented by Liverpool’s official training partner AXA, with any funds raised by the Reds going to the LFC Foundation's physical and mental health programmes for people of all ages in the Liverpool city region. Crouch scored 22 goals in 85 appearances for Liverpool in his spell between 2005 and 2008 In last year's charity game, the Foundation supported over 127, 000 people through its programmes, delivering 18, 000 sessions and events across 300 community venues, including 199 schools. Meanwhile, the visitors raised funds for Chelsea Foundation, particularly the Chelsea Players’ Trust. Steven Gerrard hailed Crouch's performance after the whistle, stating that his ex-team-mate breathed life into the affair, which was 0-0 when he came off the bench at half-time. The former club captain said: 'He [Crouch] changed the game. I think we played well throughout the game but we just needed a bit of magic, a bit of inspiration from the side, and the big man provided it. '
Share what you think
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mail Online.
By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on Mail Online. To do this we will link your Mail Online account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group