Liverpool did their best to wrestle the Premier League title away from Manchester City but their 3-1 win over Wolves ultimately meant nothing as Pep Guardiola's men completed an unreal comeback against Aston Villa.
Pedro Neto fired Wolves ahead early on but Sadio Mane soon levelled up, and things looked to be going well for Liverpool as City fell two behind to Villa, but three unanswered goals from the Cityzens meant late strikes from Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson ultimately meant nothing.
It was the worst possible start for Liverpool. A long punt up from Jose Sa made it to the feet of Raul Jimenez, who squared the ball for Neto and gifted the Portugal international with a tap-in to spoil the party after just three minutes.
An instant response wasn't far off. Luis Diaz's cross found Joel Matip, but the centre-back's header drifted wide of Sa's goal. Diaz then found himself through on goal but couldn't get past the Wolves stopper, whose save was cleared by VAR after calls for a penalty.
Wolves were soon hanging on for their lives as Liverpool bombarded their box in search of an equaliser, but they should have had the game's second goal. Neto's cross found Leander Dendoncker on the edge of the six-yard box, but he couldn't steer his effort on target.
The visitors lost Neto to injury soon after, and things went from bad to worse as Mane ran on to a glorious flick from Thiago and fired into the bottom corner to tie things up after 25 minutes.
Eight minutes before half-time, Anfield erupted to the news that Matty Cash had fired Aston Villa ahead against City. Guardiola's side were still ahead on goal difference, but the title race was well and truuly alive.
Just as the crowd died down, Hwang Hee-chan got through on goal and drew a great save from Alisson in a one-on-one.
The score remained 1-1 at half-time, with Liverpool still down in second due to their inferior goal difference.
Thiago failed to emerge for the second half after limping off shortly before the break, but Liverpool were celebrating a few moments later after Mane lobbed John Ruddy, but the offside flag was raised immediately and VAR was hardly needed.
Salah was called from the bench on the hour mark, and the Egyptian's first half-chance came as Trent Alexander-Arnold's shot was parried out to him at an acute angle, with Salah chipping over the bar from an ambitious attempt to lob Ruddy.
Elsewhere, Philippe Coutinho put Villa 2-0 up at Man City. Liverpool knew a goal would put them top and likely seal the title. Salah got through on goal to try and find it, but a crunching tackle from Willy Boly said otherwise.
With 15 minutes to go, City pulled it back to 2-1, and nerves looked to be creeping into Liverpool's game. Hwang headed wide before Jimenez over-hit a pass to his strike partner.
Then the news came in, 2-2 over in Manchester, and before it was even digested, City were 3-2 up, which was a killer for Liverpool as they took the lead late on through Salah, who bundled home from a corner.
Andy Robertson scored in the dying embers of the game to ensure Liverpool's victory, but City held on against Villa to end the day on top.
Liverpool vs Wolves player ratings
1. Liverpool (4-3-3)
GK: Alisson - 7/10 - Wolves were a massive threat on the counter and Liverpool could have conceded two or three in the first half if Alisson hadn't been on for.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold - 5/10 - Asleep for Neto's opener and not as much of an attacking threat as you'd expect.
CB: Joel Matip - 5/10 - Not on it at all. Couldn't deal with Wolves' direct style.
CB: Ibrahima Konate - 4/10 - Had an absolute stinker for Neto's opener as he misjudged the flight of the ball, and he didn't really recover from that.
LB: Andy Robertson - 5/10 - Another who struggled at the back. Not even great in attack but did get a goal late on.
DM: Jordan Henderson - 5/10 - Couldn't get involved in the game. A little too negative in his play.
CM: Thiago Alcantara - 7/10 - A gorgeous assist for Mane's equaliser. Limped off with an injury shortly before half-time.
CM: Naby Keita - 5/10 - Didn't do enough work defensively and left Alexander-Arnold exposed a little too often.
RW: Diogo Jota - 5/10 - Found it very hard to get involved. A real passenger on the right wing.
ST: Sadio Mane - 7/10 - A real danger. Got through on goal with frequency. Took his goal well and wasn't far off a nice second.
LW: Luis Diaz - 7/10 - Looked like Liverpool's most dangerous forward. Could have had a hat-trick inside 20 minutes.
SUB: James Milner (46' for Thiago) - 6/10 - Played with typical energy to try and keep Liverpool on top.
SUB: Mohamed Salah (58' for Jota) - 7/10 - Dangerous in short bursts. A scrappy goal which ultimately meant nothing.
SUB: Roberto Firmino (70' for Keita) - 5/10 - Sloppy in crucial moments.
2. Wolves (3-5-2)
GK: Jose Sa - 6/10 - Some nice saves to keep Wolves in this early on. Picked up a knee injury and couldn't come out for the second half.
CB: Willy Boly - 7/10 - A bit shaky early on but turned into a wall in the second half.
CB: Conor Coady - 7/10 - Blocked everything that came his way. Won't be popular back in Liverpool.
CB: Toti Gomes - 7/10 - Really impressive. Looks like he could be very comfortable at this level.
RM: Jonny Otto - 6/10 - Decent at both ends of the field. Nothing spectacular.
CM: Leander Dendoncker - 6/10 - Did well in midfield but missed a great chance to put Wolves 2-0 up.
CM: Ruben Neves - 7/10 - Played some excellent passes to try and go direct against Liverpool. Had Neto feasting early on.
CM: Joao Moutinho - 6/10 - Not as dangerous as his midfield partner but not much to complain about.
LM: Rayan Ait-Nouri - 7/10 - Did a nice job of keeping Alexander-Arnold fairly quiet.
ST: Pedro Neto - 7/10 - Only on for 21 minutes before going down with an injury but absolutely tormented Liverpool when he was on. Looked set for a 10/10.
ST: Raul Jimenez - 6/10 - Not in this game too much but still managed to cause a fair few problems for Konate.
SUB: Hwang Hee-chan (21' for Neto) - 7/10 - Had a fair few chances on goal after he came on. Would've scored if Alisson wasn't on it.
SUB: John Ruddy (46' for Sa) - 6/10 - Not as busy as you might have expected.
SUB: Francisco Trincao (90' for Dendoncker) - N/A
Source : 90min