Gerrard seeks spirit of adventure in bid to break Chelsea’s stride

STEVEN GERRARD believes Liverpool have proved Chelsea are not “invincible” - but accepts they must be more adventurous to inflict the champions’ first defeat of the season.

The 25-year-old Reds skipper, who could have signed at Stamford Bridge last summer, meets Chelsea again just four days after the Champions League stalemate between them.

Gerrard is now determined to end the 100% start to the league campaign Jose Mourinho’s men have achieved.

They have won all seven league games so far and Wednesday’s draw ended a run of nine successive winning games in all competitions for the Premiership leaders.

Gerrard said: “I think we could do with being a little more adventurous in certain areas, while a bit of luck also wouldn’t go amiss. If decisions had gone our way on Wednesday we’d have won so there’s no reason to believe we can’t win on Sunday.”

Gerrard added: “I know what Jose Mourinho has been saying about this being a ‘must-win’ game for us and that we’ll be out of the title race if we don’t. A defeat would certainly make life more difficult for us but it’s too early in the season for that kind of talk.

“It is a hugely important game, that’s for sure, but every time we play at home is a ‘must-win’ for Liverpool.

“The result on Wednesday gives us massive belief that we can match them again and take the game to them. We know we can get at Chelsea and that we can beat them. Because Chelsea are so strong you need a bit of luck to go in your favour to get maximum points against them but unfortunately we had two clear-cut penalty appeals that weren’t given.

“Obviously the referee didn’t have a clear view of either incident, otherwise he’d have definitely given them. I’m in no doubt that both were legitimate claims.”

Boss Rafael Benitez hopes to have Fernando Morientes and Mohamed Sissoko back after injuries. He believes the clashes with Chelsea have now surpassed Liverpool’s rivalry with Manchester United.

He said: “People used to talk about the rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool. Arsenal came onto the scene and were the best team for a few seasons and everyone wanted to beat them, but now it’s Chelsea.”