Peter Crouch rolls back the years and whips out his iconic ROBOT celebration as his brace leads Liverpool Legends to victory over Chelsea at Anfield
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- Peter Crouch netted a brace in Liverpool Legends' 2-0 win over Chelsea legends
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Peter Crouch wound back the clock during Liverpool Legends vs Chelsea Legends, scoring a brace in the Reds' 2-0 win and pulling out his iconic robot celebration for the opener.
Saturday's fixture commemorated Chelsea's 2004-05 season, which saw them claim their first-ever Premier League and first top-flight title in 50 years, as well as the EFL Cup having beaten Liverpool in the final.
The two teams also faced off in the Champions League semi-final that season, with the Reds claiming victory over two legs.
Some notable names on either side included Gianfranco Zola, Claude Makelele, William Gallas, Steven Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt and Crouch. Sir Kenny Dalglish managed the Liverpool Legends squad, while the Chelsea Legends were led by Roberto Di Matteo.
And, at 44 years old, Crouch looked like he had not lost a step. The 6ft 7in former striker got on the end of a cross from Sinama-Pongolle, and climbed high to head the ball into the back of the net and make it 1-0.
Crouch celebrated jubilantly in front of the Kop, even whipping out his iconic robot celebration, which he also performed when he scored his 100th Premier League goal while playing for Stoke in 2017.
Shortly after, the Englishman made it a second-half brace when he doubled his side's lead in the 66th minute.
Crouch got up above Robert Huth but failed to make a clean contact with Mark Gonzalez's deep cross from the left. However, the ball fell nicely for him and he was able to lob the keeper with his right foot.
After the game, Liverpool's players went on a lap of honour around Anfield, which was still almost full.
Speaking at full-time, Crouch revealed the emotion behind returning to Anfield, wearing a shirt in which he made 85 appearances and scored 22 goals between 2005 and 2008.
Despite being a boyhood Chelsea fan, Crouch's 21-year-long career as a journeyman, which saw him play for 12 different clubs, never led him to Stamford Bridge.
Crouch said: 'It's quite emotional really because I never thought I'd come back here [Anfield] in any capacity as a player.
'So to play in the game was amazing, first and foremost for the Foundation, but to score a couple of goals in front of my family and friends it was amazing.'
The charity match was presented by Liverpool’s official training partner AXA, with any funds raised by the Reds going to the LFC Foundation's physical and mental health programmes for people of all ages in the Liverpool city region.
In last year's charity game, the Foundation supported over 127,000 people through its programmes, delivering 18,000 sessions and events across 300 community venues, including 199 schools.
Meanwhile, the visitors raised funds for Chelsea Foundation, particularly the Chelsea Players’ Trust.
Steven Gerrard hailed Crouch's performance after the whistle, stating that his ex-team-mate breathed life into the affair, which was 0-0 when he came off the bench at half-time.
The former club captain said: 'He [Crouch] changed the game. I think we played well throughout the game but we just needed a bit of magic, a bit of inspiration from the side, and the big man provided it.'
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