Peter Crouch had his BT Sport colleagues in fits of laughter moments before Liverpool ’s Champions League semi-final with Villarreal at Anfield.
The former England international has earned a reputation as not only an insightful pundit, but one that can generate more than a few laughs along the way. And that was no different on Wednesday, with Crouch leaving his fellow pundits and presenter Jake Humphrey in stitches with a brilliant on-air gaffe.
The incident happened during the build-up to the last-four tie when Humphrey asked who scored the last goal at Anfield in a Champions League semi-final The answer to that riddle was of course Divock Origi, who scored the fourth and final strike in the memorable 4-0 victory over Barcelona in 2019.
His goal capped one of, if not the, most remarkable comebacks in the tournament’s history, securing progressing to the final, despite losing 3-0 in the first leg at the Camp Nou. But that night appeared to have slipped from Crouch’s mind, who tentatively guessed that it may have actually been him.
“Was it me, yeah?” Crouch answered, leaving Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen and Humphrey doubled over laughing. “We caught him out earlier in the season!” the anchor added.
“I forgot I played 15 years ago.” the former professional jokingly replied. And with Humphrey struggling to catch his breath, he joked: “That’s killed me.” The incident he was alluding to happened back in April of last year, when Phil Foden became just the fifth Englishman to have scored in both legs of a Champions League quarter-final.
Asked for the other four, the studio guests got Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, while Humphrey added that Raheem Sterling was also on the list. The fourth and final name wasn’t recalled however, despite Crouch being sat in the studio himself.
"I was a good player, you know," the Liverpool striker said of his underrated playing career. "I was going to ask you how Phil Foden would feel, but you clearly have no idea how he would feel,” Humphrey fired back at Crouch.
Crouch brought the curtain down on his 20-year playing career in the summer of 2019, having spent his final season with Burnley. The 6ft7in striker ended his long and winding career with 108 Premier League goals in 468 appearances for Aston Villa, Southampton, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Spurs, Stoke and Burnley.
He is one of 33 players to reach that landmark, but one of only six to have achieved the feat without scoring a single penalty in the competition. Crouch also had an impressive record for the England national team, scoring 22 times in 42 caps including one at the World Cup in 2006.
