This star is fading , just that little bit too soon . After Steven Gerrard announced in January his decision to leave Liverpool for LA Galaxy in the summer , many were anticipating one last hurrah in a red shirt , given so many had come before . ‘ I want to make sure that I have no regrets when my playing career is eventually over , ’ he said back then , less than three months ago . Eighty days , in fact . Plunging his studs into Ander Herrera ’ s ankle in a vital match against bitter rivals Manchester United , one of the most tantalising games on the fixture list , was surely not what he had in mind . Especially as defeat has left them five points adrift of United in fourth . Steven Gerrard is shown a straight red card against Manchester United after being on the pitch for 38seconds . Gerrard makes the long walk back to the dressing room after being sent off against Manchester United . When a 19-year-old Gerrard picked up the ball 40 yards from goal , waltzed past two Sheffield Wednesday players before finding the bottom left corner with a right-footed drive for his first ever Liverpool strike , his team-mates mobbed him . The boy who had joined the club aged eight had become a man . A star was born . That strike had provided a two-goal cushion when a makeshift Liverpool side - hit by injuries - was struggling against bottom-of-the-table Wednesday in 1999 . A bright , twinkling career was beckoning ; one in which his passion , guile and leadership would shine fiercely throughout . He would lead the team by example many , many more times . To not even be considered as a regular starter , to reduce his own swan-song by three games due to a moment of madness , is not how he would have imagined it ending 16 years later . Steven Gerrard celebrates at the end of the game after scoring against Sheffield Wednesday in 1999 . Or that he was not at the heart of their 13-game unbeaten run in the Premier League which was driving the team towards a Champions League spot . That he would start just five of those and then be so largely to blame for their capitulation in the 14th . The infamous slip last season against Chelsea , which many credit for ending Liverpool ’ s title chances , could have been buried beneath all the trophies and silverware . But too many crucial mistakes and they begin to stand out more prominently . It is not the first time Gerrard has been sent off against Manchester United - he saw red in 2011 . Gerrard has been sent off six times in his Liverpool career - seen here against Leeds , Everton and Chelsea . This is not the goodbye he would ’ ve wanted , or the one he deserves after being the catalyst of a team hanging to the coattails of the league ’ s best for over a decade to a Champions League , two FA Cups , three League Cups and the UEFA Cup . His greatness will never be forgotten , but neither will these high-profile errors at the end if they keep occurring . Gerrard has picked up six Premier League red cards now , often a byproduct of leaders when their passion spills over . Only seven players have received more , including Roy Keane with seven and Patrick Vieira with eight . But the big occasions are when these types of explosive players are supposed to be able to keep it under control . Gerrard has been Liverpool 's inspirational leader for over a decade . Gerrard will be best remembered for leading Liverpool to a number of trophies - including the FA Cup and Champions League . There is still the hope of an FA Cup final at Wembley to celebrate his 35th birthday on Saturday , May 30 . But due to his ban he will not even be in the side to help them reach it in their FA Cup replay against Blackburn . Nor for their next , crucial , Premier League match against Champions League rivals Arsenal or the game versus Newcastle . As it stands there are six games remaining of Liverpool ’ s season and Gerrard ’ s Merseyside career . If they progress to the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa in his absence , that will be seven , and eight if they make it to the final . Given all that has gone before , how much he will be desperate to go out on a high before he crosses the Atlantic . But will Brendan Rodgers trust him again ? Or has this star been snuffed out too soon ?
Steven Gerrard was sent off against Man United after just 38 seconds . It was the sixth time in Gerrard 's career that he was sent off . Gerrard will leave Liverpool at the end of the season and join LA Galaxy . READ : Gerrard red card was so quick it failed to register on Anfield clock . Graham Poll : Martin Atkinson was right to send off Gerrard . READ : The most shocking moments in Premier League history ( 50-41 )