Jose
Mourinho's "dear enemy" breached his Chelsea team's defense in a
poignant Stamford Bridge farewell Sunday but it was not enough to give
Liverpool the victory it needed to keep its Champions League hopes
alive.
Steven Gerrard, leaving
Anfield for Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of the season, headed a first
half equalizer in the 1-1 draw and was given a standing ovation from all
sides of the ground as he was substituted after the break.
Mourinho had paid fulsome tribute to
the former England captain in the pre-match build up and revealed he
had tried to sign the star midfielder while managing in his first spell
at Chelsea and later at Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
It
was a love match which was to prove unfulfilled and with Chelsea
wrapping up the EPL title last weekend, Mourinho did not begrudge
Gerrard his one last moment in the big-time limelight.
Gerrard returned the
compliment in the post-match interviews. "I have huge respect for him.
He's the best manager in the world in my opinion," he said.
"I
would have signed for him on three occasions if I wasn't such a big
Liverpool fan. He's the reason my head was turned on a couple of
occasions but he knew why I couldn't do it, because I love Liverpool
Football Club. It always means more when you win for your people."
He
also reserved a barbed comment to the Chelsea fans, who have subjected
him to plenty of opprobrium over the years. "It's nice of them to turn
up for once," he said.
While Gerrard
was on the pitch, he was a key figure in Liverpool's general dominance,
despite falling behind to a typical headed goal from his fellow captain
and international teammate John Terry on five minutes.
Gerrard
scored his 12th of the season with a header from a Jordan Henderson
free kick and his team might have grabbed the victory it needed to
maintain its challenge for a top four place in the EPL against a rather
lackluster home team.
QPR relegated
Earlier
Sunday, Queen's Park Rangers became the second team to be relegated
from the English Premier League, humbled 6-0 by deposed champion
Manchester City.
Sergio Aguero improved
his chances of ending the season as the leading scorer in the EPL by
grabbing a hat-trick -- taking his tally to 25. Aleksandar Kolarov,
James Milner and David Silva were also on target in the one-sided rout.
It
left QPR, owned by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes, bottom of the
table and nine points adrift of safety with only six points available.
Second bottom Burnley's relegation was confirmed Saturday.
Aguero's
fourth minute opener set the scene for the rout and underlined the
defensive weakness which has blighted QPR all season since winning
promotion via the playoffs.
Harry Redknapp took them to the top-flight, but quit earlier this season, leaving Chris Ramsey in charge.
His
was always an uphill task with teams around them starting to pick up
points and the third relegation spot is still to be decided, currently
occupied by Hull.
Wolves in Champions League
In
the Bundesliga, VfL Wolfsburg secured Champions League qualification
for the first time in six years with a 3-1 win over lowly Paderborn.
Dutch
striker Bas Dost scored twice as the Wolves moved to second in the
standings behind Bayern Munich with a first win in four league games.
Sunday's
late game in Serie A, was an incident-packed affair as two goals from
Hernanes saw Inter Milan beat Lazio 2-1 in a game that had two players
sent off and Inter also miss a penalty.
The win boosts Inter's hopes of winning a late Europa League place.
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