Tottenham Hotspur were only able to reduce the gap on Premier League leaders Leicester City by a single point after being held to a 1-1 draw by Liverpool at Anfield this evening.
Harry Kane struck a crucial equaliser for the Lilywhites to cancel out Philippe Coutinho's earlier opener, meaning that Spurs now find themselves four points off the summit having played a game more than the Foxes.
Both teams had chances to win the entertaining contest, but in the end a draw proved to be the fairest result overall to give Leicester another boost in their hunt for an unlikely title success.
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It took seven minutes for the first shot of the match to arrive, as Christian Eriksen put his foot through Danny Rose's cut-back 15 yards from goal only for Simon Mignolet to react well and push the ball aside.
James Milner was denied a clean shot on goal from close range by a weak first touch up the other end, with the end-to-end opening quarter to the game providing drama but not so many clear-cut chances.
That looked to have changed just short of 30 minutes in when Kane was played through at a tight angle, yet he was unable to keep his composure and ended up dragging a shot wide of the target.
Liverpool supporters thought they had earned a penalty when James Milner went down under the challenge of countryman Dele Alli inside the box, shortly after the returning Son Heung-min almost turned the ball into his own net, though referee Jonathan Moss instead signalled for a goal kick rather than a pen.
A frantic five-minute spell was to follow; Daniel Sturridge first being denied by the legs of Hugo Lloris after being played in on goal by Coutinho, before the Brazilian attacker had his own scuffed attempt pushed aside by the Spurs stopper.
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It was proving to be a busy evening for Lloris, who was forced to get down to his left to this time stop Adam Lallana's shot following a smart Cruyff turn inside the area 40 minutes in.
Spurs were struggling to test Mignolet as the half wore on, but Kane did come close to making a breakthrough when working some space and getting in a shot that Dejan Lovren did well to pounce on.
The Reds were quickest out of the blocks in the second half, and it told as they made the breakthrough 51 minutes in through the lively Coutinho - a quick exchange of passes with Sturridge freeing the attacking player to side-foot the ball home in the calmest of manners.
Sturridge could have made it two soon after when found by Coutinho from the left, with his header flying over the bar at a crucial period in the contest.
Son then flashed a volley wide of the target, being denied what would have been a glorious leveller, but the equaliser did arrive shortly after the hour mark when Eriksen kept the ball in play and picked out Kane, who was able to turn and strike into the bottom corner in the space of two touches.
Spurs, who have gained more points from losing positions than any other top-flight side this season, rallied and were only denied a second by Mignolet's big save to keep out Eriksen's long-range bullet.
There was almost a dramatic winner struck by Coutinho, as he placed the ball inches wide of Lloris's post, but despite both sides showing plenty of attacking intent the game ended level at one apiece in the end.
Daniel Lewis
