Mohamed Salah scored a late equalizer with a penalty kick to help Liverpool escape Old Trafford with a single point in a 2-2 draw with Manchester United, moving level on points with Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Salah scored his sixth league goal at Old Trafford in the 84th minute, the most by any visiting player in league history, surpassing Steven Gerrard’s five.
With seven games remaining in the tight title race, Liverpool and Arsenal have 71 points and the Gunners lead on goal difference. Defending champion Manchester City is third with 70 points.
“It feels like a loss, it’s our fault again,” Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told the BBC.
“We had a lot of opportunities and we should finish the game.”
Luis DÃaz put Liverpool on the scoreboard in the 23rd minute when Dominik Szoboszlai delivered a corner which Darwin Núñez headed towards the unmarked Colombian, who hit a volley from close range.
But Bruno Fernandes scored a wild goal, the United captain’s 50th league goal for the team, with his first shot on target in the 50th minute when he pounced on a loose Liverpool pass and fired the ball from the center circle past the goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Kobbie Mainoo had the Old Trafford faithful roaring with his rocket from inside the 18-yard box that headed into the far top corner in the 67th minute.
Mainoo was the first 18-year-old to score a league goal against Liverpool since Cesc Fabregas for Arsenal in 2005, and the delighted teenager ran towards the corner flag to wave to the crowd in celebration.
“It’s an incredible feeling to score my first goal at Old Trafford and to do it in this game was even more special,” Mainoo told Sky Sports, adding that he was disappointed with the result.
“We didn’t get the three points and that’s the main thing. I think we played very well in the second half. The boys made small mistakes and if we solve them we will win the game.”
Liverpool were awarded the match-saving penalty when Harvey Elliott was brought down in the area.
It was the second time in recent weeks that Erik ten Hag’s side had dealt a blow against Liverpool, ousting them from the FA Cup with a spectacular 4-3 home quarter-final extra-time victory last month.
But it was also the third game in a row in which United conceded late goals, in a 1-1 draw at Brentford and a 4-3 defeat at Chelsea.
The match marked the first time Liverpool had failed to win a league match in which they held the lead since October against Brighton.
“We should have won the game, that’s clear,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told Sky Sports.
“We should have scored other goals in the first half. As far as I’m concerned, we have one more point than before. They made an extra change, that’s how it is.
“We don’t have many home games left. The team that wins the league in the end should deserve it. We are in the race and I absolutely agree.”
Tottenham Hotspur beat Nottingham Forest 3-1
Tottenham Hotspur boosted their Champions League qualification hopes with a 3-1 home win over relegation-fighting Nottingham Forest on Sunday to move up to fourth place in the Premier League.
Second-half goals from Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro, after Forest’s Chris Wood canceled out Murillo’s own goal in the opening period, helped Spurs capitalize on points from rivals Aston Villa and Manchester United. United lost this weekend.
Tottenham’s victory puts them on the same level as Villa with 60 points but with one game less.
Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou, however, told reporters that he “doesn’t give a damn about the race for fourth place, what I care about is how the team progresses.”
“I thought we lost our way a little bit towards the end of the first half, but we had a great reaction and I thought we dominated the whole second half,” the Australian said.
Tottenham took the lead in the 15th minute when Brazilian Murillo, who minutes earlier had almost scored an audacious goal from inside his own half, converted Timo Werner’s cross into his own goal.
Brennan Johnson almost doubled the home team’s lead against his former club, but the forward’s attempt was stopped by the strong hand of goalkeeper Matz Sels.
Spurs were rampant and a second goal looked inevitable until Forest equalized against the run of play in the 27th minute with Wood’s fourth goal in four games.
The New Zealand striker should have scored the second 10 minutes before the break, but his shot hit the post from close range.
Forest felt Spurs should have been reduced to 10 men shortly before half-time after James Maddison appeared to take the ball away from Ryan Yates, but VAR refused to intervene.
Dutch defender van de Ven fired a thunderbolt from the edge of the area to restore Spurs’ lead after 52 minutes before Porro hit a fine finish six minutes later.
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Reuters