Liverpool must go into the final day of the Premier League season with their title destiny not in their own hands after Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany's stunning long-range goal secured a 1-0 win for his side over Brendan Rodgers' Leicester City.
The Reds – who first play Barcelona at Anfield on Tuesday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final (trailing 3-0 from the first leg at the Camp Nou) – host Wolverhampton Wanderers in their final Premier League game on Sunday and City travelling to Brighton & Hove Albion at the same time, they trail the defending champions by a single point.
Kopites were hoping for a huge favour from their former boss Rodgers as he took his side to the Etihad Stadium but despite a gutsy display that saw the Foxes become the first team in the Premier League this season to keep City out for over an hour on home turf, they were undone by a spectacular strike 20 minutes from full-time.
Liverpool knew that if Pep Guardiola's team – who had won their previous 12 Premier League fixtures in a row – could be held then their own side would go into the final round of fixtures with a one-point advantage at the summit.
The tension inside the stadium continued to grow as despite continuing to dominate the play, City had become increasingly frustrated.
Their all-time leading scorer Sergio Aguero – whose late goal in 2012 had secured their first Premier League title – was denied by Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel either side of the break with the Dane clawing a header off the line and then blocking the Argentinian from close range.
Barcelona boss arrives at Anfield and insists 'We've learned our lesson' from Roma
Former Liverpool man Raheem Sterling went down claiming a penalty after a strong challenge from Hamza Choudhury but Wirral referee Mike Dean was having none of it.
However, after peppering the visitors' goal with a series of close range efforts for over an hour, City's crucial breakthrough came from distance when centre-back Kompany was given space to let fly with a curling effort from over 30 yards out.
