The road to Istanbul began on a balmy August evening at the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Stadion in Austria.

There, Graz AK’s hopes of defeating Liverpool in this third qualifying round tie were, ahem, terminated by Steven Gerrard.

Two glorious swings of the captain’s gifted right foot secured a 2-0 first-leg win, which rendered Graz’s surprise 1-0 victory at Anfield a fortnight later a mere footnote in a season that would end in one of the most celebrated nights in the club’s history.