A corner, nine minutes after half-time. A clutch of players jump together. The ball drops eight yards out. Darwin Núñez pivots. All he has to do is keep it low. All he has to do is get it on target. He does keep it low, he does get it on target. But the ball hits the right knee of Dean Henderson, the Crystal Palace goalkeeper, and bounces wide for a corner. Was that the moment the title was lost?
It wasn’t, of course, in part because no season ever truly comes down to just one moment – and Liverpool anyway could yet come back. Even after that chance, in this game, there were other glorious opportunities that dribbled away. Diogo Jota hit Nathaniel Clyne with the goal otherwise open. Curtis Jones, sent through one on one, sliced wide. Harvey Elliott had a header saved. Mohamed Salah had an effort blocked by Tyrick Mitchell.
