The title race was over, or as many people thought, when Manchester City went 14 points clear of Liverpool following their 1-0 victory over Chelsea back in January.
Liverpool had come off three straight matches where they had failed to win, with a pair of 2-2 draws against Chelsea and Tottenham sandwiching a shock 1-0 defeat to Leicester on Boxing Day.
Yes, Jurgen Klopp's side had two games in hand, but even an eight-point gap seemed far too much to make up on a relentless Pep Guardiola side not known for giving many points away.