Brendan Rodgers Hails Steven Gerrard's Winning Response To Missed Penalty Kick

Steven Gerrard tries his best to atone for mistakes he makes while playing for Liverpool because he’s Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard scored the game-winning goal Saturday in the 87th minute of Liverpool’s 2-1 Premier League win over Queens Park Rangers. Gerrard hit paydirt less than 10 minutes after missing a penalty kick, which made it appear Liverpool would have to settle for a draw against its lowly opponent.

Gerrard and Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers discussed his late flurry of activity and the dramatic turn of events in Gerrard’s penultimate game at Anfield.

Rodgers hailed Gerrard’s ability to bounce back as truly elite.

“It’s world-class talent,” Rodgers said, according to LiverpoolFC.com. “There’s a very, very small group of players in that bracket, where in the big games they score the big goals and make the big contributions. He’s done that, everyone has seen that throughout his entire career at Liverpool.

“He was very determined, especially after the penalty. You sometimes find with a lot of players that when they miss a big penalty like that, normally their game goes and their confidence goes.

“But he’s the total opposite. He’s one of a unique group of players that whenever they need to respond, they normally do. It was an outstanding header and obviously gets us the win.”

Rodgers also revealed he was ready to replace Gerrard with Lucas Leiva for the final 10 minutes had he scored the penalty kick. In the 89th minute, Lucas finally came on for Gerrard, who departed to a standing ovation from the adoring crowd at Anfield.

Gerrard told Sky Sports QPR goalkeeper Robert Green only saved his penalty kick because he broke one of the cardinal rules for shooting from the spot.

“I wanted to get on the scoresheet,” Gerrard said. “I wanted to score the penalty but I changed my mind on the run up which is a very silly thing to do.

“Rule number one when you’re taking penalties is you can’t change your mind so I’ve got myself to blame for the penalty miss but thankfully I made up for it and helped get the team three points today.”

Gerrard will leave Liverpool after this season, and Saturday’s goal ultimately could prove to be his final strike at Anfield.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Gerrard demonstrates even more commitment and flair for the dramatic in his final Anfield outing on May 16 against Crystal Palace.