Gerrard 1-0 Lampard.
It’s a debate that’s been hashed out over and over again, only trumped in frequency by the “Can Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard play together for England?” debate.
Who was the greatest player? Two English midfielders, similar in age, similar in stature, both the stars for their clubs, who happen to be massive rivals, and both unconditional legends in their own right.
Lampard is Chelsea’s all-time top scorer, which tells you everything about his game, considering that he plays in the middle of the park and not as a striker.
His energy, intensity and eye for a finish made him unstoppable on his day, and his professionalism meant that he stayed at the very top for a long time.
Gerrard however, was the very heartbeat of Liverpool. When they needed a goal right at the death, up steps Gerrard with a screamer. A last minute crunching tackle? In comes Gerrard. A defence-splitting pass that would make Xavi Alonso blush? Gerrard again.
As an all-rounder, ticking off every individual attribute that a footballer can have, and considering the success he had with Liverpool (despite playing in significantly poorer teams than Lampard’s Chelsea), the Merseyside hero just edges it.
BT Sport revealed the results of the greatest starting Premier League XI as voted for by the fans, and Gerrard makes it over his old foe.
Today however, they came up against each other for the first time in a new form. Gerrard’s Aston Villa battled it out with Lampard’s Everton, in a game where the managers were more famous than any of the actual players involved.
Danny Ings opened up the scoring with a thunderous goal for Villa, and when Emiliano Buendía slotted it home in the 85th minute, it looked like Everton would be going home packing.
However, not two minutes after conceding, they managed to fumble in a goal of their own, which deflected off former Everton star Lucas Digne, making it one of the most ironic own goals in the Premier League.
With injury time ticking, both sides had chances to win it, but it was the team from the Midlands who managed to hold on, and the former Liverpool captain gets to chalk up another tally in his favour when it comes to the Lampard/Gerrard debate.
