Demba Ba sprinting clear of Steven Gerrard to score in front of the Kop remains one of the Premier League's defining images – and now Jose Mourinho's pre-match rallying message has been revealed.

The 2013-14 season looked set to give Gerrard the crowning moment of his Liverpool career, but his slip in the 36th game of the Reds' campaign allowed Ba in to score and put Chelsea on the way to a famous 2-0 win at Anfield.

Liverpool had 73 per cent of possession that day and led the shot count 26 to 11, but two errors leading to goals were immensely costly and proved a huge turning point in the title race. Willian scored the second late on.

The result blew open the title race, ending Liverpool's 11-game winning run in the league, and when Brendan Rodgers' side squandered a 3-0 lead at Crystal Palace to draw their penultimate game, it was clear it would be Manchester City's title.

Mourinho's Chelsea finished third, and the Portuguese's cheeky message to his players before the Liverpool game will go down as one of his mind-game masterstrokes.

"I remember Jose saying: 'They think we’re a Mickey Mouse team! But we will show them!' And we went out fighting," Ba told The Athletic.

"I was up against Martin Skrtel and Mama [Mamadou Sakho] and I played an unbelievable game."

Ba also played for West Ham and Newcastle United in the Premier League, but the game that will last longest in the memory is that outing for Chelsea on Merseyside.

"I only realised how big a deal that was a couple of years later, when people still talked about it," Ba said. "They still talk about it! It was traumatic for them. But we didn't enjoy the fact that we killed their dream, we simply enjoyed winning."

Gerrard left Liverpool a year later, the club's captain finishing without a Premier League title.

From 2007-08 until the end of his Reds career, Gerrard only made three errors leading to goals in the Premier League, according to Opta. The one that gifted Ba his goal was the midfielder's first such mistake in four years.

He is now manager of Rangers, while Mourinho is head coach of Roma.

Ba, as much as he appreciated Gerrard as a footballer, sees no reason to be sorry about his influence on the former England skipper having the trophy gap on his career record.

"No, not really. Because that's the game," Ba said. "You make errors and others take advantage. What Steven Gerrard has done for the world of football is tremendous. But this is life, unfortunately. Not all stories can end in fairytales."

UEFA has opened proceedings against Romanian officials Sebastian Coltescu and Octavian Sovre in relation to the events that led to the postponement of Istanbul Basaksehir's Champions League match at Paris Saint-Germain.

The game at the Parc des Princes was suspended after only 13 minutes when it was alleged Coltescu had exposed Basaksehir assistant Pierre Webo to racist language.

Demba Ba, playing for the Turkish side, was seen remonstrating with Coltescu and could be heard saying: "You never said 'this white guy'. Why, when you mention a black guy, do you have to say 'this black guy'?".

The match was completed a day later with PSG running out 5-1 winners. Prior to the resumption, players from both teams warmed up in "No to racism" T-shirts and took the knee in the centre circle.

UEFA launched an investigation into the incident and confirmed on Thursday proceedings will now begin.

A statement from the governing body read: "Following an investigation conducted by a UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector regarding the events that led to the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir on 8 December 2020 being abandoned, proceedings have been opened against Mr. Sebatian Constantin Coltescu and Mr. Octavian Sovre for a potential violation of Article 11 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations."

Article 11 states member associations, clubs and players must "comply with the principles of ethical conduct, loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship".

Speaking in December, Ousmane N'Doye – a former Senegal team-mate of Ba's who played for a number of Romanian clubs during his career – said Ba and Coltescu had a productive conversation during a phone call he had brokered between the two.

"When I was in Romania, I met a lot of people there, I know how Romania works," N'Doye told Sport.ro. "If something happens to someone you know about, you have to say something. I saw Sebi's character at matches – my favourite referees know each other.

"I found out Coltescu's number and I told him I was with him. I know he's not racist at all. It was a misunderstanding. I talked to Demba Ba, he's my very good friend. I provided the assist for his first goal with the national team.

"I explained to him and he understood very well. I gave Sebi his number and I told him to call him to talk.

"I've never seen racism in Romania – people were shocked when they found out what I said about Romania. It's my country!

"I explained that to Demba. He said that he had not heard anything bad from Coltescu but believed that the word 'black' should not be used in the stadium. He did not say it was racism, he said that you can't use that word in the stadium and Sebi understood that.

"They talked and they got along very well. They both called me back and told me they were very happy. Demba told me that Sebi is a very good man, as did Coltescu about Demba."

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