Manchester City’s 12-match winning streak came to an end at Southampton - but it could have been worse as the excellence of Kevin de Bruyne and cool head of Aymeric Laporte earned them a draw.
The Blues were disjointed and dysfunctional in an uncomfortable first half, when they trailed to Kyle Walker-Peters’ goal and could have been further behind.
But with their pride stung, and the thought of Liverpool closing the gap stirring them into action, Laporte headed in from De Bruyne ’s free kick to grab a point - and with De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus both hitting the post, they could have nicked a win, as they did at Arsenal on New Year’s Day.
Overall, City’s performance made a mockery of the suggestion that the title race is over.
With the noisy City fans eyeing up a win that would have opened up a daunting 14-point gap, the Merseysiders now go to Crystal Palace tomorrow knowing that two wins from their games in hand will see the lead carved down to six points.
Pep Guardiola has been warning about this kind of result, and this kind of performance, for some time, but few seemed willing to listen.
The first half performance exhibited everything City are not - disjointed, hesitant, distracted and sloppy.
There was little sign of Pep Guardiola in the technical area in the first half - he was possibly riveted to his seat by the sheer incompetence of it all
Not only were they being overrun by swift counters, with Rodri, Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias chasing shadows whenever Saints moved over the halfway line, but the malfunction up front was alarming.
The Blues started with Jack Grealish central, where has failed to impress before, and it seemed his sole purpose was to try to tease free kicks out of the vigorous home defence - not much of a return for £100million.
But picking out Grealish would be unfair, as Sterling was worse. This was the Sterling of nine months ago, being hassled out of possession, failing to test his full back and instead being a foil for predictable Kyle Walker overlaps that kept ending up with aimless, pointless crosses.
He capped his worst 45 minutes for some time by conjuring up the old, hesitant Sterling who freezes in front of goal.
Phil Foden had been marginally the pick of the misfiring all-English front three, and when he skipped past Kye Walker-Peters and arrowed a low ball to the far post, Sterling had enough space and time to pick his spot - and that was his problem as he controlled and then fired far too close to keeper Fraser Forster.
By then Southampton were already one up, and cynics might claim Pep Guardiola had a hand in it!
Remember his vigorous post-match lecture to Nathan Redmond a few years back, after a game at the Etihad Stadium, when - as far as we can discern - he was urging the young Englishman to be more direct and positive.
Redmond obviously took it to heart and was direct and positive culminating in a space-opening thrust that gave Walker-Peters a glimpse of Ederson’s far corner - he found the spot with a terrific finish.
City responded with plenty of attacking, but little of it was the smart, thoughtful, fluid football to which we have become used.
It consisted largely of Walker’s powerful surges which ended in brainless driven crosses or with Joao Cancelo dancing down the other flank and choosing the wrong option.
Maybe Guardiola addressed Walker’s lack of thought at half time, because one of the first actions after the break saw him again head for the byline but this time pull his cross back to Rodri, whose volley was beaten away by Forster.
Saints maintained enough of a threat to make every City attack a hazard to themselves, and their prowess at set pieces was always a danger.
Never more so than when Armando Broja headed against the post from a corner and Jan Bednarek blazed the rebound over the bar.
Guardiola had seen enough by the hour mark as Sterling continue to look like a man whose mind was already on what he will do in his week off, dallying on the ball and constantly making bad decisions.
He was hauled off and replaced by Gabriel Jesus, although there were two or three others who must have nervously glanced at the number going up on the board.
The Brazilian made an instant impact, although he could barely claim it was anything special, by winning a free-kick 30 yards out.
De Bruyne curved in a ball of expected quality and as the Saints defence stood and watched, Laporte strolled in and had time to pick out the bottom corner with the simplest of headers.
Suddenly, City were level, and alive, looking sharper and deadlier, and De Bruyne twanged a post with an attempt reminiscent of his stunning winner against Chelsea last week.
The air of confidence and belief that had grown, the more City sputtered and the more Saints resisted, started to dissipate in the chill Hampshire air.
Cancelo finally found his range, and his cross to the far post found Jesus rising and heading against the post that was still resonating from De Bruyne’s effort.
