Entertainment

Guardiola's apology to Gerrard for slip joke was almost as funny as Gerrard's slip

By Connor Fleming February 14, 2023
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It's been nine years since Gerrard cost his team the crown and it still makes everyone laugh.
The18

In life we have those rare instances that become so engrained in the memory they become "where were you when..." moments. One of those instances was Steven Gerrard's infamous slip against Chelsea that cost Liverpool the 2013-14 Premier League title.

The ingredients were intoxicating: Gerrard, the aging captain representing the vestiges of Liverpool's 24-year wait for the crown, driving his overachieving squad forward against the indomitable Manchester City and reaching the precipice following a string of wild victories — including a 3-2 win over Man City two weeks prior and another 3-2 result the week before followed by Gerrard screaming "we don't let this slip" in the post-match huddle — only for it all to come undone at Anfield after Gerrard fell on his face. 

It went beyond the hubris of sporting downfall and straight to the realms of comedic gold, like the old Mel Brooks summation of "tragedy is when I cut my finger; comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die."

Nobody had to die for this to maintain its humor almost a decade later. 

Now Gerrard's slip is back in the limelight after — in defense of the hundreds of charges leveled against Man City by the Premier League — Guardiola adopted a ridiculous martyr complex and said that next people were going to be blaming City for Gerrard's infamous moment.

But on Tuesday, before City's top-of-the-table clash against Arsenal, Guardiola used the start of his press conference to say that he was "ashamed" of his "unnecessary and stupid comment." 

Guardiola is trying to be a class act but you don't need to be ashamed about having a sense of humor. Maybe Guardiola was just trying his hand at surreal comedy — he killed it. 

 

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