World Football's Monday Morning Hangover: Gerrard's Thorny Chelsea Farewell

Welcome to world football's Monday Morning Hangover, an homage to the NFL section's own Monday Morning Hangover, in which we round up the key stories and important points from the latest weekend in world football.

With an inevitable focus on the Premier League, let's get started.

Gerrard Doesn't Forgive in Final Blues Meeting Many Won't Forget

It was a standing ovation he did not want, one that, in the immediate aftermath, he was barely willing to acknowledge. Steven Gerrard clearly had no interest in being substituted at Stamford Bridge on Sunday—there was still a game to be won, a Champions League dream still to be chased—but his manager, Brendan Rodgers, had different ideas.

"Steven has worked brilliantly and it was more just to give him the acclaim on what will probably be the last time he played at Stamford Bridge," Rodgers said afterward, via Ben Jefferson of the Daily Express. "I think he's been a thorn in the side of Chelsea supporters because they know he's got star quality but I think they recognised today the end of an era, of a special player."

It was an interesting assertion from Rodgers, if only because the previous week he said he had kept Gerrard on because he is always capable of popping up with a late winner, something Liverpool desperately needed once again on Sunday.

There was also no guarantee Gerrard would get his ovation, with the Chelsea fans having delighted in abusing the Liverpool captain all afternoon—even laminating signs to drive the point home—as they have done ever since his infamous slip against the same opponents 12 months ago.

In the end, Gerrard was briefly applauded by the entire stadium—Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho included—before the cruel chants, chants delighting in what was surely the lowest moment of Gerrard's career, continued with even greater intensity.

Gerrard certainly did not seem amused or touched by the whole scenario.

"I'm not going to get drawn into wishing the Chelsea fans well," Gerrard told Sky Sports. "It was nice of them to turn up for once today.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

"I was more happy with the ovation from the Liverpool fans. Chelsea fans have shown respect for a couple of seconds, but they've slaughtered me all game."

Even though he scored his side's equaliser on the pitch, this was Gerrard's best moment on the day. He hit back at the Blues fans incisively and effectively in the same interview while laying out exactly what Liverpool—six points out of fourth with two games left—must now do to ensure they return to the Champions League as soon as possible:

"

I think now this team has got to build for next year. We didn't win the game, but we've certainly showed with additions and a bit of improvement that we can compete next year.

I think it's important the lads get some rest after the last couple games, and that the owners dig deep and try to help Brendan and the lads out, try and make some additions and try to improve.

There's a great core of players here, they have terrific potential and the future looks alright, but it is important we try to compete with the giants in the league, they're all going to spend big and this league is getting more and more difficult every year.

"

Considering the comments, it is tempting to wonder just how frosty the relationship between Gerrard and Rodgers now is. You may wonder, for example, whether Rodgers actually substituted Gerrard as one last power move—after all, there was no guarantee he would be applauded off the pitch.

Similarly, Gerrard's comments afterward, that Liverpool should be competing for glory next season, had a touch of the Harry Redknapps about them. Just as Redknapp seems to delight in saying Roy Hodgson should be winning the European Championship with England next summer, as the Guardian reported following a talkSPORT interview, raising the pressure on the man who beat him to the job, Gerrard subtly raised the expectations for Rodgers next season.

"

Gerrard n Rodgers tiff  https://t.co/cxsDIOn5Pg

— Nat (@Natriles) May 10, 2015"

Regardless of that intrigue, it ended up being a quintessential Gerrard afternoon. So many of his greatest career moments seem to have come in the midst of great adversity—the Liverpool goals against Olympiakos and West Ham United, the umpteen strikes against Manchester United at Old Trafford, the many match-deciding penalties and free-kicks—that this sort of moment felt very fitting.

Saturday's farewell at Anfield, while undoubtedly a memorable and sentimental moment, will feel like recognition but not a representation of Gerrard's career. Sunday was different—amid crashing waves of boos and insulting chants, the midfielder still made his presence and enduring quality known. 

Gerrard completed just 83 per cent of his passes on Sunday, whereas Chelsea debutant Ruben Loftus-Cheek did not misplace one of his 27 attempts during his hour on the pitch. The difference in mileage on the clocks of the two players was evident, even if Loftus-Cheek will have to go to remarkable heights if he is to enjoy the career Gerrard has.

Yet Gerrard still contributed the goal that secured a positive result for his club. It is a quality that he has shown no signs of losing, even as others slip from his grasp. It is also a vital knack Liverpool will have to replace next season.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Goal of the Weekend

Who would have guessed it? The two best teams in Spain—and possibly the continent, pending the remainder of this season's Champions League—score some of the best goals!

Goal of the Weekend: Runner-Up Edition

See above.

Random Asides

• Commiserations to Burnley and Queens Park Rangers, who were both relegated—albeit in contrasting fashions—over the course of the weekend. Burnley beat Hull City but ended up being condemned after other results went against them, while QPR crumbled to a somewhat embarrassing 6-0 defeat to Manchester City that left manager Chris Ramsey unwilling to make excuses for some of his players.

In many ways, their respective exits highlight what now lies in store for the two clubs: Burnley, if they retain Sean Dyche and spend wisely in the summer, should be well poised to compete for immediate promotion back to the top flight. In contrast, QPR have huge financial issues to sort through (there is some doubt whether the Football League will even allow them to re-enter the Championship, potentially forcing them all the way down to the Conference instead) and significant structural issues that may well conspire against them. The fear is the rot is just starting for the west Londoners, although they now have the summer to ensure that is not the case.

• Ruben Loftus-Cheek must think this football lark is easy. One start, one guard of honour and not even one misplaced pass. It was about as good as debuts can go, though the teenager can expect things to get a lot harder from here on out.

• Manchester United effectively secured Champions League football for next season with their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, ending a run of three successive defeats. Their display on Saturday was probably the worst of the lot—but isn't that often how football goes? Palace, meanwhile, will be rueing some suspicious refereeing decisions. Michael Oliver penalised a dubious handball for a first-half penalty, then later failed to spot a foul on Damien Delaney immediately before Marouane Fellaini's headed winner.

Palace have not had much luck against United since returning to the Premier League—penalties have now cost them the first goal in three of their four meetings—and surely have a certain right to be increasingly frustrated about it.

• Staring relegation in the face now, can Hull have too many complaints? A home game against Burnley is exactly the sort of match you would want in a relegation run-in, yet Steve Bruce's side were barely at the races for large parts of the contest and ultimately fell to a 1-0 loss. “Every time we come to a game we are expected to win, we seem to struggle,” was Bruce's verdict, per the Guardian. When that is the case, perhaps you deserve to go down.

• Does anyone want to be in the Europa League next season? Both Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur collapsed to resounding defeats against sides they would have surely expected to fare far better against, Leicester City and Stoke City, respectively, maintaining the status quo in the table.

Unless Aston Villa win the FA Cup, both teams will be in the competition English sides love to hate next term. What effect that will have on their league form is unknown. But as we have seen recently—for Liverpool, Everton and also Swansea City—European participation tends to have a negative impact.

• On the subject of the Europa League, the Premier League's impressive fair-play record means UEFA has awarded England an extra place in the competition. Awarded to the side with the best fair-play record this season—but only a preliminary-entry berth, meaning the "lucky" side has to play their first tie at the start of July—Everton and West Ham are the two teams most likely to benefit. They face off against each other on Saturday. With nothing else to play for, it will be interesting to see how many yellow cards the referee is forced to brandish.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Good Week, Bad Week

Good Week

Riyad Mahrez: Having flattered to deceive for much of the season, his goals may have secured Leicester's survival.

John Carver: A much-needed comeback and a significant point earned. But his Newcastle United side still need a couple more.

Sergio Aguero: With his hat-trick, he has surely sewn up the league's top goalscorer award.

Tom Cleverley: He might not be at Aston Villa next season, but his goal surely keeps Tim Sherwood's side in the top flight.

Danny Graham: Two-and-a-half years after signing for the club, he finally scored a goal for Sunderland!

Bad Week

Tottenham's defence: Unbalanced, disorganised, error-prone—and not just the red-carded Vlad Chiriches.

Hull City: The victory ultimately meant nothing to Burnley, but it could end up meaning everything to Steve Bruce's side.

Scott Dann and Joel Ward: Ashley Young has a habit of tormenting Crystal Palace, as he did on Saturday.

Tony Fernandes: He saw his QPR team go down with barely even a hint of fight. Choppy waters ahead for the club. 

Ronald Koeman: Southampton are pushing Spurs hard to make the bigger hash of the run-in.

Clive Rose/Getty Images

Attention Turns to United's Summer Overhaul

With Champions League qualification effectively assured thanks to Saturday's victory over Crystal Palace and Liverpool's draw with Chelsea on Sunday, Manchester United's attention can now start to turn toward their summer evolution—the new signings they will make in an effort to become realistic title contenders once again.

Memphis Depay is already secured—Louis van Gaal admitting that he was forced to act quickly to prevent the Dutchman from joining Paris Saint-Germain instead—while Sunday's newspapers were full of strong speculation about other deals, with Nathaniel Clyne and Ilkay Gundogan both mentioned in multiple publications. When that happens, you tend to suspect that something really is afoot.

"The transfer to PSG was really close," Depay agreed at the weekend, via Ben Burrows of the Mirror. "I always knew United were interested but it was nothing concrete. Then at the last moment they called and I spoke with their coach.

"I'm really proud and I believe I can be a big player at Old Trafford. I will give everything I have."

Gundogan is known to be leaving Dortmund and would seem a straightforward deal for United to do, adding another body in midfield, while Clyne would give United an out-and-out right-back and fill another void in the current squad—Antonio Valencia, while good in that position, is perhaps not a natural.

Find a top-tier central defender and keep David De Gea, and that would already constitute a great summer's business for Van Gaal and the club. Even more so if they get it done long before the squad returns for pre-season training.

"Manchester United shall always react when it is necessary in our eyes," Van Gaal said on Friday, per Sky Sports. It was both a warning and a promise. Now with Champions League football as a carrot, the results will be worth watching for.