It's now been four years since Steven Gerrard played his final game for Liverpool.

Arguably the greatest player in the club's decorated history, Gerrard wore the red jersey through some of the most successful and challenging periods of the modern era.

The Liverpool captain came so close to finishing his time at the club on a triumphant high, although that elusive Premier League title would continue to evade them in the 2013-14 season.

Gerrard took the decision to stay for one more season and without Luis Suarez in the squad, the Reds experienced a noticeable downturn and would eventually finish in sixth place.

As a result, the England international took the decision to end his Liverpool career after 17 years and wind down his career across the pond with LA Galaxy.

Steven Gerrard's final game

His final Anfield match came against Crystal Palace and while it didn't dampen the emotions of his goodbye speech, losing 3-1 certainly wasn't the note on which he wanted to depart.

However, his goodbye games would get even tougher the following week when Liverpool made the trip to Stoke City in the final round of the Premier League.

It would turn out to be a defeat of disastrous proportions, with Liverpool conceding six goals in the league for the first time in 52 years and five of them came before half-time.

Four years since Stoke 6-1 Liverpool

Mame Biram Diouf started the rout after 22 minutes, doubling his tally just a few moments later, before Charlie Adam and Steven Nzonzi sent the Potters into dreamland in the first-half.

We dread to think what Brendan Rodgers told his players at the break and the only consolation was that the second-half finished somewhat respectably at 1-1.

Gerrard managed to bow out with a final goal for the club, not that he got the chance to celebrate it, but Peter Crouch rounded off the Stoke onslaught with a strike against his former side.

The Liverpool legend concluded his career in English football with his biggest defeat of all.

It's a day at the office that Liverpool fans won't want to remember in a hurry and it was firmly the beginning of the end for the pre-Jurgen Klopp era.

The German would join the club just five months later after the club made a disappointing start to the 2015-16 season and the Merseyside club haven't looked back since. 

The only positive that Liverpool can take from that day four yeas ago is that it serves as a yardstick for the incredible progress they have made ever since.

Despite missing out on the Premier League title, they produced one of the greatest points tallies ever and have the chance for Champions League glory next week.