Liverpool were on the hunt for their first Premier League title in over 20 years and were heading to Crystal Palace to keep their dream alive. It was no longer in their hands after losing to Chelsea the week before, but they were still there and knew that a big, dominant victory would keep their hopes alive and, more importantly, the pressure on Manchester City.

The biggest aim for the game was not just to win, but to win by a big margin. Liverpool needed to close a nine-goal goal-difference gap to City. So, a win simply was not enough.

For 78 minutes, the game was going to plan. Liverpool were completely dominant and 3–0 up. Easy, right?

But by the end of the game, it had completely fallen apart and finished Crystal Palace 3–3 Liverpool. Some of the Liverpool players were in tears and Liverpool had gone from cruising to wondering how it had all gone wrong.

The Search for Goals

Liverpool were not going into this game just looking for three points. They wanted to win by as big a margin as possible. There were only two games left and every goal mattered if they were going to put real pressure on City.

That explains a lot about the way Liverpool approached the game. They were not interested in getting 2–0 up and shutting it down. They wanted four, five, maybe even more. For most of the night, that looked like the right approach.

Joe Allen Starts It

Liverpool took the lead after 18 minutes. Steven Gerrard delivered a corner and Joe Allen headed it past Julian Speroni. Crystal Palace 0–1 Liverpool.

It was Allen's first Premier League goal for Liverpool and it settled any early nerves. From there, Liverpool started to look very comfortable. Palace had a few moments in the first half, but Liverpool never really looked like a side in trouble.

Suddenly It Was 3–0

Liverpool came out flying after half-time. Daniel Sturridge made it 2–0 after his shot took a deflection and found its way past Speroni. Then Luis Suárez combined with Raheem Sterling before finishing for his 31st league goal of the season.

3–0.

At that point, it felt like the floodgates could open. Liverpool looked capable of getting four, five or even six and, looking back, that was probably part of the problem.

They kept attacking through Suárez, Sterling and Sturridge because the aim was still to score more. At the time, it made sense. Looking back, it feels very different.

Eleven Minutes Left

As the clock moved towards 80 minutes, the game suddenly changed. Damien Delaney hit one from distance, the shot took a deflection and flew past Simon Mignolet. 3–1.

Liverpool had been completely dominant all night, so surely that was nothing more than a consolation. Palace still needed two goals and there was hardly any time left.

Then, two minutes later, Yannick Bolasie broke forward and squared the ball for Dwight Gayle. 3–2. That was when everything shifted.

The atmosphere inside Selhurst Park changed, the Palace players suddenly believed and Liverpool looked nervous for the first time all night. A team that had spent most of the match worrying about how many goals they could score was now desperately trying not to concede another.

From Control to Panic

That is probably what I remember most about this game. It is not really one individual goal. It is how quickly Liverpool went from completely controlling the match to looking like they had lost all control of it.

At 3–0, Palace looked beaten. At 3–1, it still felt safe. At 3–2, you almost knew another chance was coming. Liverpool looked stunned, and to be honest, Palace probably could not quite believe what was happening either.

Dwight Gayle Again

Then came the equaliser. A long ball went forward, Glenn Murray brought it down with his chest and Dwight Gayle ran onto it.

Low finish. 3–3.

Selhurst Park erupted. Palace had somehow rescued a point with only a couple of minutes left. Liverpool had been three goals ahead with 11 minutes remaining and had thrown the lead away.

You could almost see their mindset changing with every Palace goal. Even at 3–1, the focus had started to move away from scoring more and towards protecting what they already had. By 3–2, it felt inevitable that Palace were going to get another chance.

There were opportunities at both ends after the equaliser, and Palace even had a chance to make it 4–3, but the game finished level.

The Goal Timeline

Suárez in Tears

The image everyone remembers came after the final whistle. Luis Suárez pulled his shirt over his face and broke down in tears. Liverpool players, including Gerrard, helped him away while the rest of the team stood around looking completely stunned.

The strange thing was that the draw actually took Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League. But it felt like a formality. Manchester City had a game in hand and two home matches remaining. Liverpool might have been top of the table, but nobody watching their reaction would have thought they had just moved into first place.

Brendan Rodgers sounded resigned afterwards too, saying he believed City would now go on and win the title.

Was It Really About Goal Difference?

This is probably the most interesting part of the game when you look back at it. Liverpool were 3–0 up away from home with barely any time left. Normally, the obvious thing would be to slow the game down and protect the result.

But this was not a normal situation. With City's goal-difference advantage hanging over them, there was a genuine feeling that three points alone were not enough. Liverpool wanted four. Then five. That meant they kept attacking.

It is easy to criticise with hindsight, but that attacking mentality was also the reason they had put themselves in a title race in the first place. They had scored goals for fun all season. On this occasion, it came back to hurt them.

From 3–0 to 3–3

That is why this game still stands out. Liverpool did not lose. They actually moved back to the top of the league. But it felt like one of the worst results of their season.

For 78 minutes, they had done almost everything right. Then one Palace goal became two, and two became three. Liverpool had spent the whole night thinking about how to give themselves the best chance of winning the league. In the space of 11 minutes, that feeling had completely disappeared.

Crystal Palace 3–3 Liverpool. Three goals up. Eleven minutes left. Only one point.

The title had not mathematically gone that night, but judging by Suárez's tears, Gerrard's reaction and Rodgers' comments afterwards, Liverpool knew just how much had slipped away.