Liverpool's charge towards the Premier League title was halted by stubborn Nottingham Forest in a 1-1 draw between the top two on Tuesday as Manchester City's resurgence came undone in a 2-2 draw at Brentford.
Chris Wood fired Forest in front early on at a raucous City Ground, but Liverpool dominated almost the entire 97 minutes and got back on level terms thanks to substitute Diogo Jota's goal with his first touch.
Only a brilliant goalkeeping performance from Matz Sels denied the leaders victory, but the point maintained a six-point cushion over Forest for Arne Slot's men, who also have a game in hand.
Forest had won their last seven games in all competitions to raise the possibility of matching Leicester's incredible title win of 2015/16.
The in-form Wood had the home fans believing after just eight minutes when he slotted in Anthony Elanga's pass.
Liverpool enjoyed over 70 percent possession and had 23 shots on goal but only posed a serious threat in front of goal after the break.
Jota had only been on the field a matter of seconds when he nodded in Kostas Tsimikas' corner.
Sels then made incredible saves to deny Jota, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo a winner, while Salah also had a goalbound effort cleared off the line.
"I could not have asked for more," said Slot. "Second half was outstanding.
"There are not many teams that can create so many chances against an opponent so defensively strong. Unfortunately we couldn't get a second."
Liverpool's second consecutive league draw opens the door for Arsenal to cut the gap at the top to four points when they host Tottenham in the north London derby on Wednesday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36pLfcWtOXE
- Man City, Chelsea stumble -
Any suggestion City could get themselves back in the title race was ended in a late collapse in west London as Brentford struck twice in the final 10 minutes for a deserved point.
Phil Foden's double had City on course for a fourth consecutive win after a run of just one victory in 13 games.
However, the English champions' defending was not convincing all night and they were punished as Yoane Wissa and Christian Norgaard netted for the Bees.
Foden's return to the form that saw him crowned Premier League player of the year last season was the one positive for City.
But Pep Guardiola will reflect on a missed opportunity to make up ground on the top four as City remain down in sixth, 12 points off the top.
Foden produced a brilliant deft touch from Kevin De Bruyne's inviting delivery and then smashed in a rebound for his fourth goal in five league games.
Brentford wasted a host of chances before conceding but finally got some reward for their attacking endeavour when Wissa slotted in from Mads Roerslev's cross to become the club's all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier League.
They completed the comeback in stoppage time when Norgaard's header had too much power for Stefan Ortega.
"We are not (at our best) and we didn't take the right decisions," said Guardiola. "It's fine, it's not a good place to come. Unfortunately, we couldn't win."
Fourth-placed Chelsea's miserable run extended to five league games without a win but they were grateful for captain Reece James' stoppage-time equaliser salvaging a point in a 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth.
Cole Palmer's cool finish from Nicolas Jackson's through ball had given Chelsea the perfect start.
But Bournemouth hit back through Justin Kluivert's penalty, before Antoine Semenyo's blistering near-post effort put the visitors in front.
James has endured another injury-hit season but showed his quality by curling home a free-kick at the death.
West Ham boss Graham Potter enjoyed a winning home debut as Fulham were beaten 3-2 at the London Stadium.
Carlos Soler, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta were on target for the Hammers to take Potter's men above Manchester United and Tottenham into 12th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2AUNCO6BBQ
'Outstanding' Liverpool deserved more: Slot
Arne Slot insisted Liverpool deserved to beat Nottingham Forest after the "outstanding" Premier League leaders needed Diogo Jota's equaliser to rescue a 1-1 draw against their title rivals.
Slot's side were rocked by Chris Wood's eighth-minute opener at the raucous City Ground.
But Jota came off the bench to head in fellow substitute Kostas Tsimikas' corner just 20 seconds after Slot sent on the pair in the 66th minute.
Although Liverpool had struggled to cope with Forest's intensity and rock-solid defending until Jota's leveller, they laid seige to the Forest goal in the closing stages.
It took a series of superb saves from Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels and a goal-line clearance from Ola Aina to ensure Nuno Espirito Santo's team held on.
"Their goalkeeper had to make a few incredible saves but their defenders also made some good blocks with quite a few chances. They blocked almost every shot," Slot said.
"I could not have asked for more. Second half was outstanding. There are not many teams that can create so many chances against an opponent so defensively strong. Unfortunately we couldn't get a second."
It was a pulsating clash that recalled the golden era when Liverpool and Forest won five European Cups between them from 1977 to 1981.
They were also both English champions during that period and, while Forest are unlikely to ever emulate the Brian Clough era, this tenacious display indicated a title challenge is not beyond them.
Forest had already beaten Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield in September -- the leaders' only defeat in 20 league games -- and Slot needed no reminding of their qualities.
"We were definitely better than the last time that we played them. That wasn't that difficult though. Back then we did not create much, today we did," he said.
"It is so, so hard for every team to create here. And at times it was one chance after another.
"To win games in the second half of the season is more difficult than in the first. Teams get used to playing you and they improve, they can even bring in new players or a new manager, and they fight for every point."
Chasing a first English title since 2020, Liverpool remain in control of their own destiny.
- 'Like ping pong' -
Arsenal can close the gap on the Reds to four points with a win against Tottenham on Wednesday, but Liverpool will hold a game in hand and Slot sees no reason to panic after two successive league draws.
"For us to come from behind shows the character and quality the team has," he said.
"We must not get a habit of not getting what we deserved because it happened at Tottenham and it happened today."
Forest's six-game winning run in the league may have come to an end, along with a seven-hour streak of not conceding a single goal in the top-flight.
But this was an energising night for Forest, who have enjoyed a remarkable transformation this term after narrowly avoiding relegation last season.
"First half we were organised and didn't allow too many situations. The second half was like ping pong and that is when Liverpool become stronger, when they have space and with the speed and talent they have it is very dangerous," Nuno said.
"I'm very proud of the team for the way they worked and ran, especially up and down and the sprints to recover and the desire to attack."
Forest are up to second place -- a position they last finished in way back in 1988 -- and Nuno urged them to keep pushing.
"Of course we are satisfied. Especially because of the way the players work," he said.
"We keep going. We want to enjoy the moment and we are competing very well."