The moment that set social media alight

Jordan Henderson scored twice as Chelsea dismantled Bournemouth 5-1, opening the scoring and adding a second with a free-kick in what was only his second appearance for the west London club. It was the kind of display that reminded everyone the 36-year-old still has something to offer at this level. But it wasn't the goals that got Liverpool supporters talking. It was what came after the second one.

Henderson tapped the Chelsea badge on his shirt in celebration, and on the evidence of the reaction across social media, that gesture landed like a lead balloon among a section of the Anfield faithful. One supporter put it plainly on X: "Jordan Henderson of all people patting the Chelsea badge?" Another added: "Not nice seeing Henderson patting the Chelsea badge." A third went further, suggesting his reception when he next walks back into Anfield will be a far colder one than the warm welcome he received on the final day of last season, when he returned with Brentford.

A complicated legacy getting more complicated

To be fair to Henderson, his standing as an Anfield legend should not be in serious dispute. He captained Liverpool to the Premier League title, the Champions League, and a host of other trophies during twelve years at the club. When Brentford visited on that last day of the season, Liverpool supporters showed him the kind of appreciation those achievements deserve, and rightly so.

But a lot has shifted since then. Chelsea are his fourth club in three years since leaving Anfield, following stints at Al-Ettifaq, where he was signed for £12million before his contract was terminated six months later, and Ajax, where the arrangement lasted much the same length of time. He arrived at Stamford Bridge carrying a fractured left forearm sustained during the World Cup. The wandering nature of this chapter of his career has done little to preserve the sense of affection that built up over more than a decade on Merseyside, and the badge tap has done it no favours either.

What happens when Chelsea come to Anfield

The timing of all this is particularly sharp. Liverpool are due to host Chelsea in the fourth round of the League Cup later this month, which could hand Henderson a return to Anfield wearing blue. If he misses that fixture, Chelsea do not visit again in the league until May, with a separate fixture at Stamford Bridge pencilled in for early December.

Chelsea's win moved them up to sixth in the Premier League, three places above Liverpool but only a single point ahead. Whether Henderson features at Anfield or not, the reception he receives next time around is likely to be a noticeably different one from the scenes on that final day last season. Legends are not forgotten at Anfield, but they are not immune from scrutiny either, and Henderson's next visit should tell us a great deal about where that relationship now stands.