Goals from Joe Allen, Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge gave the Reds a comfortable lead with an hour played. But their ongoing problems at the back surfaced once again as Palace netted three goals in eight minutes to seal a result which put the title race firmly in Manchester City’s hands and reduced Luis Suarez to tears.
Brendan Rodgers’ side still rise to the top of the table with the point, but Manchester City are in the driving seat with a game in hand and a superior goal difference.
Liverpool blew a three-goal lead and could well have blown their Premier League title chances after Crystal Palace mustered a stunning comeback to secure a 3-3 draw at Selhurst Park.
Goals from Joe Allen, Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge gave the Reds a comfortable lead with an hour played.
But their ongoing problems at the back surfaced once again as Palace netted three goals in eight minutes to seal a result which put the title race firmly in Manchester City’s hands and reduced Luis Suarez to tears.
Brendan Rodgers’ side still rise to the top of the table with the point, but Manchester City are in the driving seat with a game in hand and a superior goal difference.
A must-win game for the Reds starting in lightning fashion, with the referee waving away penalty protests after Glen Johnson was felled in the box by Yannick Bolasie’s wild challenge, while Mamadou Sakho fired a free header wide with a woeful close-range effort.
Johnson was next to go close for the rampant visitors, the England full-back looping a header onto the roof of the net from Allen’s brilliant lofted pass.
And it was the Welshman who opened the scoring with his first Premier League goal in red, completely losing his marker from a corner, drifting into the middle of the box and planting a header past Julian Speroni with ease.
Palace began to sit deep following the goal and Liverpool were more than happy to press, with Suarez twice going close. But the Eagles were quick on the counter, with Simon Mignolet forced to tip Jason Puncheon's low effort round his post and then get a palm to Mile Jedinak’s dipping drive.
The pace continued after the break but it was all in Liverpool’s favour as Sturridge, in his first game back from injury, first hit the post and then doubled the Reds’ lead with a deflected shot.
And newly-crowned FWA Player of the Year Suarez then got in the act, making it three with a fierce shot after tidy one-two play with Raheem Sterling.
Suarez’s reaction said it all as he picked up the ball and immediately ran for the centre spot, eager to get the game back underway as they attempted to chase down Manchester City’s goal advantage.
With the Reds appearing to have sealed a comfortable three points, no one saw the remarkable comeback coming.
But Rodgers’ men fell victim of trying to be too cute in the build-up, and such was their desire to increase their tally that their leaky back four were left horribly exposed in the closing stages.
With full-backs Johnson and Jon Flanagan acting as wingers during their attacking surges, it meant Liverpool were helplessly outnumbered when Palace broke, and - with 11 minutes remaining - Damien Delaney was first to take advantage, lashing a deflected shot past Mignolet from 25 yards.
That goal gave the Eagles just a glimmer of hope, but substitute striker Dwight Gayle struck again just two minutes later to give the Reds a real scare, the youngster confidently firing home after neat work from Bolasie.
The No.7 was a key presence in Palace’s exquisite final spell, as the hosts took full advantage of Liverpool’s shock to secure the smash-and-grab point, Gayle firing another past Mignolet to send the Selhurst crowd into raptures.
Five minutes of added time gave Liverpool a lifeline in their pursuit of a crucial winner, but Palace held on to record one of the shock results of the season.
It was a contrast of emotions at the final whistle, with Palace celebrating while Reds skipper captain Steven Gerrard was left to console the visibly distraught Suarez and Martin Skrtel, as the Reds headed for the tunnel knowing the title is surely now out of their reach.
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