Traditionally, soccer’s great rivalries are founded and fed by political and geographical demographics. It’s those age-old guidelines that make the rivalry between Liverpool and Chelsea a peculiar one.

There’s a clear, longstanding needle between the two teams, but the classic stimulants for a rivalry don’t really exist when it comes to the Blues and the Reds. On the face of it, there’s no political or geographical constants that should make these two bigger enemies than a pair of miscellaneous teams plucked from different corners of the country.

There is, though, and there was little surprise when Chelsea supporters gleefully revered in Steven Gerrard’s ill-fated slip, Demba Ba’s finish at the Kop end and the subsequent faltering of Liverpool’s title challenge back in April. Indeed, you suspect the red half of Merseyside were just as happy when Atletico Madrid dumped Jose Mourinho’s men out of the Champions League a few days later.

Modern history of Liverpool and Chelsea

In truth, this is rivalry formed primarily on circumstance and controversy, as both teams surged to the peak of English and European football a decade ago.

The 2005 Carling Cup Final was arguably the moment when things between the two clubs turned sour. Chelsea won the game 3-2 in extra time, but it’s a match that’ll be forever remembered as the one in which Mourinho turned to Liverpool fans, finger on lips, after Gerrard—who had been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge—scored a late own goal to take the match into extra time.

Luis Garcia Goal

That incident might have remained an isolated one in any other season, but the two teams met again in the semi-final of the Champions League. Liverpool won the tie 1-0 on aggregate, but a furious Mourinho insisted that Luis Garcia’s “goal” did not cross the line, something that riles the Portuguese to this very day.

The perceived arrogance of Chelsea got up the noses of Liverpool’s supporters, most notably, the way in which Mourinho carried himself and the manner in which that transcended onto his team.  For those of a blue persuasion, there’s a feeling there has always been a sense of entitlement with the Merseysiders, something that the Reds didn’t like to be threatened by this up-and-coming side bankrolled by Roman Abramovich’s millions.

They were always festering opinions bubbling under the surface, but the “Ghost Goal” was a trigger for the dislike to escalate; from that point on, the disdain between the supporters, the players and the managers peaked.

Neither boss was shy about taking a swipe at the other. Mourinho, speaking of the Garcia goal, claimed “they didn’t score, the supporters did”. Rafa Benitez sniped that “me and Jose were really good friends until Liverpool started beating them. Since then, he seems to have changed his mind.”

It was difficult to argue with Benitez’s claim, for at that point, he certainly seemed to have the wool over Mourinho and Chelsea. In 2006, another victory, another Luis Garcia goal and another win in a semi-final over the Blues—this time in the FA Cup—paved the way for more silverware for the Reds, and they got the better of Chelsea again in the 2007 Champions League semi-final.

Mourinho, outmaneuvered by Benitez again in a big European game, was naturally unhappy. But the Reds had seen it all before, and Jamie Carragher claimed that the Chelsea boss was “the funniest thing to come out of London since Del Boy and Rodney”.

Heating up

By this point, the fans had really bought into this dynamic, fashioning derogatory chants for each other. The cries from the Kop of “f*** off, Chelsea FC, you aint got not history” did plenty to rile the Blues, but having picked up myriad trophies under the tutelage of Mourinho, the retort of “you’re ancient history” held just as much clout.

Remarkably, it was actually when Mourinho left the club that Chelsea began to seize the upper hand in what had become an exceptionally bitter dynamic. In 2008, the pair were drawn together again in the semi-finals of the Champions League, although on this occasion it was the Blues—under the tutelage of Avram Grant—who scraped through 4-3 on aggregate after extra time.

Staggeringly, the two met again in the 2009 edition of the competition, this time at the quarter-final stage. And once again it was an engrossing encounter, with Chelsea eventually emerging as 7-5 aggregate winners after a pulsating 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge in the second leg.

Liverpool’s hiatus from top level European competition put an end to the pair’s unforgettable European nights, but the bitterness is still prominent between the two sets of supporters.

Torres and more crucial matches

Fernando Torres’ £50 million move stoked the flames further, and the Spaniard did little to quell matters by claiming he was now at a “top-level club”. The Reds fans were naturally unimpressed, and have since branded their former forward, not to mention a few other Blues stars, as “Chelsea rent-boys”.

The two met again in the 2012 FA Cup final, a match which Chelsea won 2-1, but was again riddled with controversy. Andy Carroll’s header in the latter stages of the game was deemed not to have crossed the line, but ask a supporter of either allegiance about the legitimacy of the linesman’s call, and chances are that you’ll get a different answer.

Most recently, almost typically given Mourinho’s return to the Premier League, the rivalry seems to be more bitter than ever. Liverpool were furious at some refereeing decisions that helped Chelsea to a 2-1 win over the Reds last December, while Brendan Rodgers was highly critical of Mourinho’s approach in that game at Anfield last April, claiming the Chelsea boss “parked two buses” in a match that Liverpool’s unexpected title tilt was dented.

Gerrard

There is, of course, a major focus on Gerrard, too. Courted by Chelsea in 2005, the iconic Liverpool skipper handed in a transfer request with an intent to join Mourinho’s blue revolution, before withdrawing it days later. “He kisses the badge on his chest, then puts in a transfer request”, still sing the Chelsea supporters nine years on.

His slip last season was one of the most unfortunately iconic moments in Premier League history and after being rested for Liverpool’s trip to the Santiago Bernabeu this week, Gerrard will be desperate to make amends when the two meet again in the Premier League this weekend.

Either way, with Mourinho in situ and memories of last season’s heartache still raw for the Anfield crowd, surely another fascinating chapter will be written in the recent but uncompromisingly raucous rivalry between these two giants of the English game.

Follow Matt on Twitter @MattJFootball