On 28 December 2008, Steven Gerrard unfurrowed his brow, puffed out his chest, and allowed himself to be carried away, briefly, by the intoxication of scorching Newcastle United by five goals to one.



Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool went three points clear at the top of the Premier League that day, and the captain extolled the quality of his teammates.



“You look around the dressing room and, from the keeper to the forwards, we have some fantastic players,” he said. “There is a confidence that we can get over the big hurdles.”



Gerrard would later refer to that 2008-09 side as the best he ever played with. Three years ago, he shared an Instagram post captioned with one weighty word that underscored the power of the team. Using an image of the starting lineup that eviscerated Real Madrid 4-0 on March 10, 2009, in the Champions League first knockout round at Anfield, he wrote, simply, “Spine 👌💪.”...