Gerrard had 'nightmare' as fans questioned Chelsea own-goal and Mourinho taunted them

A split-decision made in the moment can define the narrative forever: some of us still watch the sun set and wonder what life would be like if Harry Kane squared the ball to Raheem Sterling against Croatia at the 2018 World Cup.

Entitled the freedom of Liverpool, Gerrard the player will forever be remembered as one of football's greatest and most loyal servants to a single club.

But what would we be talking about if Gerrard hopped on Jose Mourinho's trophy-laden train at Chelsea, rather than watching the doors close in front of him?

Would it be Premier League titles? A legendary partnership with Frank Lampard that actually worked for club and country? There was a time when all of this felt real.

Seventeen years ago, back when the competition was sponsored by an even more unhealthy drink, the 2005 Carling Cup final was turned on its head by an own-goal from the Liverpool captain.

There were some who questioned whether Gerrard had simply opened his account for the Blues, not least iconic commentator Peter Drury.

"There is so much irony in that goal." Drury said, describing the event for ITV. "Stevie Gerrard, many believe, has just scored his first of many goals for Chelsea - and he's scored it as a Liverpool player in a cup final."

The charismatic, young Mourinho 'shushed' the Liverpool fans to his immediate left in vintage style, eventually getting himself sent off for unrelenting s***housery.

But he had plenty to be smug about as goals from Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman sealed his first trophy as Blues boss in extra-time.

And the Portuguese had every reason to think Gerrard, the man adored by those supporters near the touchline, would soon belong to him.

In July, later that year, Liverpool released the following statement: "The club has made it crystal clear we want to keep Steven at Anfield. Sadly, he has told us this afternoon that he will not accept our offer of an improved and extended contract because he wants to leave Liverpool.

"We very much regret the decision he has taken."

It sounds totally unbelievable now, but some Liverpool fans burned their Gerrard shirts - and his own-goal months earlier was seen as a precursor.

Speaking the Daily Telegraph in 2012, per Goal, he said: "It was a nightmare. I felt suicidal.

"It was bad, one of the worst days I have had, especially against Chelsea. I was linked with them for a while before that cup final.

"Then to go and score an own goal - there were Liverpool fans who probably thought I meant it at the time - and to get the defeat was a nightmare too, for me and the team."

Gerrard would, of course, make a spectacular U-turn and spend the next decade at Anfield, leaving us to ponder what might've been.

Does he have any regrets? No chance.

"The most important thing is the final decision was the right one," Gerrard said in an interview with The Guardian in 2018.

"Nine out of ten people might argue I would have made more money, won more trophies, blah, blah.

"But them people are not me. They're not in my city and they don't have that connection with my club. That's why I'm the one in ten."

Fast forward to 2022, the legacy of that final in Cardiff provides the basis for a modern rivalry between the two clubs.

Who will shape the next 17 years of football discourse on Sunday?