The dream of winning a championship isn’t over, but it’s very close to that. Liverpool threw away a three goal lead, as Crystal Palace mounted an impressive three-goal comeback in the final minutes of the match to make it 3-3, and playing yet another big role in the title race of the Premier League.
Liverpool scored first through a Joe Allen header. The second half brought a two-minute blitz with goals from Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez. At that moment, the only thought was by how many Liverpool would win, thinking about the goal difference between them and Manchester City, who held a healthy lead at that stage.
But introducing Dwight Gayle and Glenn Murray changed the match. Liverpool put in Philippe Coutinho for Daniel Sturridge, and a minute later the comeback began with a great goal from Damien Delaney. Dwight Gayle scored a second one two minutes later, and provided the big finale in the 88th minute as the raucous home crowd kept pushing Crystal Palace to complete the upset.
At the moment Liverpool are on top of the Premier League with a one point advantage over Manchester City, but their rivals have a game in hand and after beating Everton in Goodison Park, it seems like the hurdles between them and winning a second championship in three years are thinning out.
Chelsea are also still in the race, two points behind Liverpool. However, they need too many things to happen for their unlikely bid to become a reality, and with Jose Mourinho lowering expectations and bickering with players, no one really expects magic to happen.
Liverpool seemed destined to win the title, ending a 24-year drought. Then came the loss to Chelsea, which got things out of their hands, making Manchester City the ones in control. For 79 minutes at Selhurst Park, the dream remained real and within reach. Nine minutes of nightmare turned all that around, and making first place a little less realistic.