"Ah ****" was Pep Guardiola's initial reaction to seeing Liverpool gifted a win over Tottenham on Sunday .
Manchester City's title rivals looked to be holding on for a point at Anfield that would have left them in second place having played a game more, but a late siege on the Spurs goal lifted the stadium when Hugo Lloris dropped Mohamed Salah's header at the feet of Toby Alderweireld and saw the ball dribble over the line.
It was an almost-identical situation to the Merseyside derby in December when a Man City and Liverpool FC: The defining moments of the Premier League title race so far gave Liverpool the win, while to a lesser extent errors from Julian Speroni and Sergio Rico have also helped Jurgen Klopp's challengers gain points.
In a game where moments can be instantly seen as definitive in deciding the champions, Liverpool's late getouts have come to be viewed as important in the same way that City's were last season or United were under Sir Alex Ferguson.
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Those believing in greater forces at work believe that Anfield horror shows from the goalkeepers of Everton, Crystal Palace, and Tottenham suggest Jurgen Klopp's men have destiny on our side, while others put it down to luck.
Guardiola, though, has a much more rational explanation as he believes that good fortune is earned by creating the opportunity for error in the first place.
"It happened three or four times because they have something special," he said. "Once maybe it is luck, the second time is luck but to happen three or four or five times it is because they have something special.
"I think the Premier League is fair in the end, you win some points, you have penalties sometimes against and sometimes in your favour - it’s what it is.
"I would prefer them to drop points in that situation but I am pretty sure Pickford wanted to save that ball and Lloris would save that ball but it’s football.
"We are two behind, we can be one in front but our destiny is in our hands. I’m not wasting my time thinking ‘They were lucky here there and everywhere’. That doesn’t give you an extra point an extra thing to improve in the future."
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