The race for the Premier League title seems to be growing hotter by day as the season nears to end.
Liverpool and Manchester City have been fighting tooth and nail ever since the first day with neither side willing to relent in their pursuit of domestic glory.
Both sides have produced some simply sublime football throughout and, in any other season, would be running away with the title by this point.
Sadly, only one team can be crowned champions of England meaning one of these special sides is in for a cold, lumpy serving of disappointment come May.
Whatever the final result though, there can be no questioning that it has been a scintillating battle between the two sides and both teams thoroughly deserve to win it.
Liverpool very nearly slipped up at the weekend though, as they limped towards what could have been a very damaging draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Reds failed to put real daylight between them and their visitors having dominated the first half and Lucas Moura made them pay, cancelling out Roberto Firmino’s opener with just 20 minutes to spare.
Spurs smelt blood and flooded forward as a thundering air of anxiety swept across Anfield.
Watching from a distance, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola would have loved what he was seeing – his biggest rivals for the title were rocking and on the brink of handing him a major boost.
However, as the clock ticked onto ninety minutes Liverpool forced themselves forward and, after Mohamed Salah popped up at the backpost, the Spurs defence made an awful hash of clearing their lines and the ball trickled into the net.
Pandamonium engulfed Anfield as a relieved Jurgen Klopp celebrated rather reservedly on the sideline.
For Guardiola though, that Liverpool winner came as a bit of a body blow, with the Spaniard admitting he was not a happy man in the aftermath of Hugo Lloris’s howler.
Fair to say it did not go down well in the Guardiola household.
“When I saw it I said ah s***,” Guardiola explained when asked how he reacted to the goal.
“But then after five or ten minutes, you say ‘ok, nice title challenge’. Nobody said it would be easy, I know that, we know that, and a better challenge it is.”
Having had it all his own way last season, Guardiola’s team will have to show some real mettle if they are to defend their title this time around.
Liverpool will push them all the way.