Where are they now?
Raheem Sterling made his Liverpool debut in March 2012, but he had to wait until the start of the next season for his maiden Premier League start. The forward has gone from strength to strength since the Reds' 2-2 draw with his current club Manchester City, but what became of his team-mates that afternoon?
GK: Pepe Reina
The 2012/13 campaign would prove to be Reina’s final one at Liverpool, having first joined the club in 2005. The Spaniard made 396 appearances for the club in all competitions, winning an FA Cup, a League Cup and the Premier League Golden Glove on three occasions.
Loaned to Napoli in summer 2013, the goalkeeper moved to the Stadio San Paolo on a permanent basis following a season at Bayern Munich. Currently backing up Gianluigi Donnarumma at Milan, the 37-year-old is nearing the end of his career.
RB: Martin Kelly
A local lad who first broke into the Liverpool first team in 2008, Kelly went on to play 62 games for his boyhood club in all competitions. He was only a bit-part player in 2012/13 – his outing against City was one of only four in the Premier League that season – and departed for Crystal Palace in 2014.
A reliable performer at right-back or centre-half, Kelly has been an important squad player during his time at Selhurst Park.
CB: Martin Skrtel
Skrtel was the most decisive player in this 2-2 draw with Manchester City, for good reasons and bad. The Slovakian centre-back was halfway through his Liverpool career at this point, joining the club in 2008 and leaving for Fenerbahce in 2016.
After three years in Istanbul the defender joined Atalanta earlier this year, only to have his contract terminated by mutual consent within three weeks after deeming himself a bad fit with the Serie A side. He’s now back in Turkey with İstanbul Basaksehir.
CB: Sebastian Coates
Coates made just seven Premier League appearances in his debut season of 2011/12, followed by only five in his second campaign at Anfield. Neither Rodgers nor his predecessor Kenny Dalglish warmed to the Uruguay international, who was loaned to Nacional and Sunderland over the next two seasons.
Sold permanently to the Black Cats in summer 2015, he joined Sporting CP 18 months later and remains at the Estadio Jose Alvalade today. Having won three cup competitions in Lisbon, he’ll be hoping to add a league winner’s medal to his collection this term.
LB: Glen Johnson
A right-back by trade, Johnson was deployed on the opposite side of Liverpool’s defence in this 2-2 draw. This was his most productive season at Anfield, with 43 of his overall 200 appearances for the Reds coming in 2012/13.
Johnson left for Stoke in 2015, spending three seasons in the Potteries before hanging up his boots last year. He currently works as a pundit for talkSPORT.
CM: Lucas Leiva
Lucas arrived at Anfield to relatively little fanfare in 2007, but he went on to represent the club for a decade, playing 346 times in all competitions. Not always a regular starter, the unfussy Brazilian only ever scored one Premier League goal for Liverpool – a header in a 3-0 victory over Newcastle in 2009.
Lucas has spent the last two seasons at Lazio, helping the club to Coppa Italia glory last term. The midfielder turns 33 in January but is under contract at the Stadio Olimpico until 2022.
CM: Joe Allen
It’s fair to say that Allen’s post-Anfield career hasn’t gone entirely to plan. The Welshman joined Rodgers in swapping Swansea for Liverpool in 2012, with this game against Manchester City his first home match for his new club, and spent four years at the club, becoming more popular as time went on.
The midfielder joined Stoke in 2016/17 and played a key part as Mark Hughes’ men comfortably avoided relegation, but the Potters dropped down to the Championship the following year and, with Allen still in their engine room, are currently bottom of the second tier.
CM: Steven Gerrard
One of Liverpool’s greatest ever players, Gerrard was coming towards the end of his Premier League career in 2012. He was never able to win the title with his boyhood club, coming closest in 2013/14 before joining LA Galaxy in 2015.
Gerrard spent two seasons in MLS, returning to Liverpool to become manager of the club’s Under-18 side. He left Merseyside last year to take charge of Rangers, and is hoping to end Celtic’s recent monopolisation of the Premiership title this term.
RW: Fabio Borini
Borini helped fire Rodgers’ Swansea side to promotion in 2011, and he renewed acquaintances with the Northern Irishman at Anfield the following year. Borini struggled to make an impact at Liverpool, though, scoring just twice in 25 games before being sold to Sunderland.
The Italian returned to his homeland with Milan in 2017, initially on loan and then on a permanent basis a year later. Previously deployed only as a forward, Borini has been used as a wing-back and central midfielder in the last couple of seasons.
LW: Raheem Sterling
Sterling would play 24 times in the Premier League in 2012/13, his first full season as a professional. He was more integral the following campaign, missing just five top-flight matches as Liverpool finished second, before becoming arguably his team’s key player in 2014/15 following the sale of Luis Suarez.
After a lengthy contract saga, Sterling joined Manchester City in 2015, a decision which didn’t go down well with those on the Kop. His decision has since been justified, though: the forward has won two Premier League titles at the Etihad Stadium and become one of the world’s best players in the process.
ST: Luis Suarez
A few months after this 2-2 draw with Manchester City, there were calls for Liverpool to get rid of Suarez after he bit Branislav Ivanovic in a 2-2 draw with Chelsea. Arsenal tried and failed to prise him away from Merseyside in summer 2013, and the brilliant Uruguayan almost inspired the Reds to their first title of the Premier League era the following season.
Suarez joined Barcelona for £65m after the 2013/14 campaign, winning a treble of Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey in his first season with the club. He’s since claimed six more major trophies and scored a total of 182 goals in 254 games for the Blaugrana.
Sub: Jonjo Shelvey
Shelvey would depart Liverpool at the end of 2012/13, joining Swansea for a fee of £5m. The midfielder played 96 times for the Welsh outfit but was on the move again in 2015, when Newcastle spent £12m on his signature.
He made an excellent start to his St James’ Park career and was handed the captaincy within three months, but Shelvey has failed to kick on in the last couple of seasons and is now longer a guaranteed starter.
Sub: Jose Enrique
Enrique featured in 43 Liverpool matches in 2011/12, and was a first-team regular the following season too. The left-back was barely seen thereafter, though, making only 12 Premier League appearances in his final three injury-hit campaigns with the Reds.
Enrique saw out his career with a season at Real Zaragoza in 2016/17 but was forced to retire prematurely due to persistent knee problems. The Spaniard was diagnosed with a brain tumour last year but received the all-clear from doctors in April.
Sub: Andy Carroll
Carroll became Liverpool’s most expensive ever player when he arrived at Anfield for £35m in January 2011. This 2-2 draw with Manchester City would prove to be his final outing for Liverpool, with West Ham agreeing a season-long loan a few days later.
Consistent injury issues limited his game time in east London, but Carroll was often effective when fit and managed 142 appearances across seven seasons. The striker returned to boyhood club Newcastle on a pay-as-you-play deal this summer.
