Liverpool’s quest for a first English league title since 1990 has foundered on naive football in two matches where a less gung-ho approach might have produced four points instead of one.
The dramatic collapse from a 3-0 lead with 11 minutes remaining to draw 3-3 at Crystal Palace on Monday came eight days after Liverpool had dominated possession against Chelsea at Anfield only to run out 2-0 losers.
The squandering of those precious points means they top the Premier League table with 81 and one match to play, one ahead of Manchester City who have two games remaining.
Manager Brendan Rodgers was forced to concede the title race was effectively over and, in his view, City would now be crowned champions for the second time in three seasons.
In both games, Liverpool’s chase for goals, allied to poor defending across the back, cost them dearly. They were not isolated tactical lapses.
The stats speak for themselves. Liverpool have scored 99 goals this season but conceded 49. Teams that concede that frequently do not win titles.
Rodgers spoke after the Palace match about how his team should have “managed the game better” when they were 3-0 ahead, but he must share the blame for not changing his tactics.
Liverpool’s continued quest for goals when they could have shut up shop was not irrational but an attempt to close the goal-difference gap with City that would decide the title if the rivals ended up with the same points tally.
It started out as a plus-9 advantage for City, went down to plus-6, and then back to plus-9 as Liverpool imploded.
Liverpool are in top position for goals scored but they are in the bottom half of the table for goals conceded.
Liverpool, as they have been all season, were impressive going forward as they built what should have been an impregnable lead that would keep their title dream very much alive.
A header from Joe Allen put them 1-0 up in the 18th minute before two goals early in the second half from Sturridge and newly-crowned Footballer of the Year Luis Suarez, their 21st and 31st goals of the campaign respectively.
But they collapsed like a house of cards as Palace hit back with three goals in just over nine minutes, one from Damien Delaney and two from Dwight Gayle, who hit the killer equaliser in the 88th minute.
That collapse and the defeat to Chelsea came after an 11-match winning streak that propelled Liverpool to the top of the table just over a month ago.
But while the goals flowed at one end, their porous defence had never stopped conceding.
They let in three goals at relegated Cardiff City in a 6-3 win, and also conceded three to Swansea City in a 4-3 win. They conceded two to both Norwich City and Fulham although they won both games 3-2.
As a result, Liverpool’s long wait for a 19th English title will almost certainly extend to a quarter of century, while City will celebrate their fourth next weekend.