Jeremy Doku got away with a high foot on Alexis Mac Allister in the final minute of stoppage-time in Sunday's 1-1 draw on Merseyside
Three teams; 10 games to go; separated by just one point. The Premier League title race is set up for an epic conclusion, one that was officially kicked-off on Sunday as Liverpool and Manchester City played out an intense 1-1 draw at Anfield that leaves Arsenal as the front-runners as we exit the final bend.
The Gunners' late win over Brentford less than 24 hours earlier had set the stage beautifully for what was almost-certainly the final Premier League meeting between Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, and their two teams didn't disappoint.
City played the better football in the first half, and took the lead thanks to a clever set-piece that was finished off by John Stones at the near post. Liverpool, however, roared out of the half-time blocks, and took advantage of errors from Nathan Ake and Ederson to equalise via an Alexis Mac Allister penalty early in the second period.
From there, the Reds dominated but could not find the cutting edge required, while City still managed to hit the woodwork twice on their increasingly rare forays forward. In the end, it is a result that suits everyone and no one. Still, there is no clear favourite for the title, and Liverpool will fancy their chances of being top by the time all three contenders have next played, given Arsenal go to the Etihad Stadium next up.
For now, fans are able to bask in the beauty of two of the greatest teams the English top-flight has ever seen, and a title race that has the potential to be the best we've seen in a long, long time. Who wins it remains anyone's guess.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Anfield…
LOSER: Stuart Attwell
Sunday's clash was one that almost passed with no refereeing incidents of note, as Michael Oliver allowed the game to largely flow while ensuring the obvious decisions were made correctly, including Liverpool's penalty for Ederson's foul on Darwin Nunez.
However, Oliver and – more pertinently – VAR official Stuart Attwell could go down in infamy if Liverpool end up missing out on the title by a point or two after they failed to award the Reds a spot-kick for Jeremy Doku's high boot on Mac Allister in the final minute of stoppage-time.
Klopp insisted that the decision should have been "100 percent a penalty", and he has a point. Anywhere else on the field, and Doku planting his studs into Mac Allister's chest – even though he got a toe on the ball first – would have been deemed a foul, and likely one worthy of a yellow card. It was telling that both Gary Neville and former referee Mike Dean initially felt like Doku was in trouble when watching the replays while commentating for .
That Oliver wasn't sent to the screen to at least have another look at the incident feels like Attwell bottling the decision. Were this not the last-minute of a potential title-decider with the scores level, would he have made the same call? We can hope he would have, but it's difficult to shake the feeling that the VAR did not want to insert himself into the game at such a crucial juncture, and instead will hide behind the 'clear and obvious' defence.
The Reds might still go on and win the title, and all will be forgotten, But if they do come up just short, then expect to see the Doku incident replayed over and over again.
AdvertisementGettyWINNER: Arsenal
The Gunners spent most of last season being the hunted and were eventually chased down by City in the title race. In 2023-24, though, they have been enjoying playing the reverse role of the hunter, but they have also been waiting for their two rivals to falter, and they have finally done so, as well as wearing each other out.
The result means that Arsenal are now back at the top of the table for the first time since Boxing Day – albeit on goal difference – and it is now up to them to stay there. Mikel Arteta's side were given a big fright by Brentford on Saturday, but got the three points thanks to Kai Havertz's 86th-minute winner.
Their capacity to find late goals will give them extra confidence of coming out of this extraordinary three-way title race on top, as no team has won more points within the final five minutes of matches than the Gunners.
Next up is a trip to the Etihad, where they effectively waved goodbye to the title last year. But this time their squad is stronger and they seem more mentally robust, too. They have also witnessed that City are not bulletproof any more, and so this most-enthralling of races could be set for a shock twist in three weeks' time.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Ederson & Nathan Ake
When you are 1-0 up at Anfield in a game with huge ramifications for the title, you need to keep a cool head and make the right decisions. Two minutes into the second half, Ake and Ederson did neither.
The Dutchman was the biggest culprit as he invited the danger with a sloppy back-pass, but Ederson was too eager to get to the loose ball before Nunez when he could have just stood his ground and narrowed down the Uruguayan's shooting angles. After all, there were no other Liverpool players close by.
Ederson ended up getting injured as a result of the clash, although his replacement Stefan Ortega did an admirable job standing in for the remainder of the game. He will at least have three weeks to recover before the next league game against Arsenal as Ortega was already pencilled in to face Newcastle in the FA Cup next week.
Ake, however, faces fierce competition from the returning Josko Gvardiol, and this was a big error which may lead to Guardiola choosing the Croatian instead for City's next crunch game.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Carlos Vicens
Set-piece coaches rarely make the headlines, but Carlos Vicens and his staff have now been credited with two City goals within the last three months. Kevin De Bruyne and Stones executed the plan perfectly at Anfield, while Nathan Ake also played his part in a brilliantly-worked routine which caught Liverpool unawares and saw City take the lead. But the idea was hatched on the training ground.
“Yeah, Carlos worked hard on it in training as we do every week,” Stones told . “We spotted this and yesterday we worked on it and it came off, which was pleasing for me to get on the scoresheet, my first one of the season and to get off the mark in a big game as well."
Vicens and dead-ball analyst Jack Wilson were credited for their role in another clever set-piece goal against Burnley in January, when De Bruyne rolled the ball along the floor for Julian Alvarez to strike first time.
Vicens has been with City since 2017, working his way up from youth-team coach to join Guardiola's staff in 2021, and he has overseen a huge improvement in the team's set-piece output, with the team scoring 21 goals from dead balls while conceding just once in his first season.
Everyone knows City are one of the best teams in the world in open play, but Vicens has ensured they can also make the difference from set-pieces, too.