Liverpool All-Star Charity Match 2015: Score, Report, Reaction and Highlights

Sunday's Liverpool All-Star Charity Match at Anfield between Steven Gerrard's XI and Jamie Carragher's XI ended in a 2-2 draw, a fair result based on the full match. Fans got to witness some great football from some of the club's top legends and a number of special guests, and ultimately, the result didn't really matter. 

Both teams were in high spirits before the match, and Bayern Munich's Xabi Alonso, who played on Gerrard's team, took a shot at Carragher, as reported by the Daily Mail's Kieran Gill:

"

I'm glad I'm in Stevie's team, because I'm pretty sure that Carra would be a terrible manager.  

So I'd rather be on Stevie's team. It's going to be a great game, we're going to have great fun. It's going to be good to see friends who you've been apart from for years.

"

Liverpool's official Twitter feed shared the full squads for Sunday's event:

Thierry Henry was one of the special guests for this match, playing on Gerrard's team, and he had the first shot of the match, putting it high over Pepe Reina's goal. The former Gunner looked lively early on, nearly linking up with Gerrard just minutes later.

Gerrard's team certainly had the upper hand in the opening minutes, but Carragher's XI took the lead early through current Red Mario Balotelli. The Italian blasted home from well outside the box, as shared by Liverpool FC News:

Balotelli hasn't had the greatest start to his Liverpool career, and naturally, Bleacher Report UK had to make this joke:

Alonso nearly had a quick response after a failed clearance fell to him, but his volley skipped wide of the post—to the delight of Carragher. Stewart Downing then drew a fine save from Brad Jones, cutting inside after a beautiful long ball before aiming a shot at the centre of the goal.

Footballers-turned-pundits Carragher and Henry played each other close throughout the match, and when the former pulled out the latter near the box, there were quite a few willing free-kick takers, via this Indonesian fan-blog:

The free-kick came to nothing, however, and Carragher's XI doubled their lead from the resulting counter-attack. Didier Drogba easily rounded Jones after a delightful ball from Balotelli, as shared by Troll Football (note the wild celebrations in the stands when the Chelsea man found the target):

"

Drogba makes it 2-0. Balo assist. Gerrard XI 0-2 Carragher XI https://t.co/vgTddB66Xj

— Troll Football (@Troll__Football) March 29, 2015"

The Telegraph's Chris Bascombe wondered how Liverpool legend Gerrard would be received by Chelsea fans under similar circumstances:

Carragher's team was now clearly dominating, and Balotelli tested Jones with a toe-poke from close range, nearly making it 3-0.

One of the best moments of the first half came after 32 minutes, and incredibly, it was a substitution. Six years after leaving the club, Alonso finally got his chance to say goodbye to the Anfield faithful, and the fans understood the significance of the moment, per the club's official Twitter account:

Martin Kelly was then penalised for bringing down Jerome Sinclair, and while replays showed the decision to award a penalty to be a very harsh one, it gave Gerrard a chance to put his team on the board.

The Reds captain didn't miss from 12 yards out, sending Reina the wrong way with an expert strike:

There was time for one more highlight in the first half, courtesy of Henry—and what a highlight it was:

A bevy of substitutes took place at half-time, giving Gerrard's XI a completely new group of strikers. Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez waited until the rest of the team had entered Anfield before coming on together, and the crowd reacted in kind. Before long, Torres' name was being chanted by everyone inside the stadium.

The pace dropped considerably at the start of the second half, and the first good chance came in the form of a Craig Bellamy free-kick, which Jones handled very well.

As is usual in these kinds of events, the referee interfered to make sure the match stayed interesting, handing Gerrard's team another penalty. Carragher was the guilty party, bringing down Suarez.

Up stepped the skipper once again, with the same result:

Gerrard found Suarez on the edge of the box minutes later, but the Barcelona man aimed his effort too close to Peter Gulacsi. Carragher's XI was now under real pressure, as Torres, Suarez and Company went looking for a late winner.

Suarez had another crack on goal, this time from a free-kick, but his strike went well over the bar. The forward is enjoying some time away from Spain, and he clearly didn't bring his A-game with him to Anfield on Sunday. Gerrard's team had a few more half-chances, but they never came close to scoring the winner.

Squawka provided fans with a number of memorable photos from a fantastic occasion:

As the match came to a conclusion, a number of former Reds gathered for a lap of honour, with the likes of Alonso and Suarez handed the chance to say goodbye to the Anfield faithful one more time. 

Meanwhile, Henry had to fire one last shot at his fellow pundit Carragher, via LFC Fans Corner:

He also admitted that, playing on a team full of Reds legends, the Kop singing You'll Never Walk Alone suddenly sounded very different:

This year's Liverpool All-Star Charity match was a rousing success, and while it may be difficult for fans to see so many great footballers together and imagine what could have been if they had all stayed, it was a glorious occasion nonetheless.

Squad captain Gerrard visibly struggled with his emotions at times, particularly after the final whistle, but fans can be sure the club icon will be back at Anfield in the future to participate in matches like this one.

The Liverpool All-Star Charity match was played for the benefit of the Liverpool FC Foundation. For more information, visit their official website by clicking here.