Liverpool dropped two points at Anfield by throwing away a two goal lead against Leicester City.
The Reds led 2-0 at half time courtesy of two Steven Gerrard penalties, before goals from David Nugent and Jeff Schlupp in the space of two minutes pulled the Foxes back on level terms.
The match ended in frustration for Brendan Rodgers and his side, who failed to capitalise on Arsenal’s defeat at Southampton.
The Reds could have fallen behind inside the first 60 seconds, when a cheeky free kick from Riyad Mahrez struck the inside of Simon Mignolet’s post.
Mahrez was a threat all afternoon, and could have given the Premier League’s bottom club the lead again ten minutes later, however he blazed over from 12 yards in front of the Kop.
Liverpool had taken a while to get going, and it was a slice of fortune that brought about the breakthrough. Referee Mike Jones awarded the Reds a penalty when Raheem Sterling’s cutback was blocked by Wes Morgan.
Jones pointed to the spot believing the ball had been blocked with an arm, but replays showed clearly the ball struck Morgan in the head.
Steven Gerrard made no mistake from the penalty spot, and the Reds started to find their rythm.
Adam Lallana – so impressive in the 4-1 win over Swansea – was inches away from his third goal in a week, with his left foot shot from the edge of the box going narrowly wide.
Philippe Coutinho looked by far the Reds biggest threat, and the Brazilian won his side another penalty after a mazy run – this time the ball did appear to strike the hand of Leicester defender Danny Simpson.
Gerrard went to his left this time to send the goalkeeper the wrong way, and Liverpool looked to be cruising towards a third consecutive league win.
Jordan Henderson almost produced a goal of the season contender, when his volley from a Gerrard corner from the edge of the box went narrowly wide.
Into the second half, and Liverpool began slowly. Adam Lallana was forced off the pitch with an injury to be replaced by Fabio Borini, and the slight change in shape hardly helped the side get their performance level back up to scratch.
Mamadou Sakho made a superb last ditch tackle to deny Jamie Vardy, but was powerless to prevent the forward knocking the ball into the bath of substitute David Nugent just minutes later.
The Everton fan produced a stunning first time shot from the edge of the box to leave Mignolet helpless, and bring Leicester back into the game.
And it did not take long for them to fire again, when Mahrez found Schlupp on the edge of the box who drilled an unstoppable strike low into the bottom corner – although questions will be asked as to why he was not closed down quicker.
Lazar Markovic was thrown on in search of a winner, and the Serb was involved in Reds two best chances to snatch all three points.
First he inadvertantly got in the way of Fabio Borini’s goal bound strike, and then he headed wide from eight yards after some excellent work on the wing from Raheem Sterling.
Jordan Henderson almost snatched a winner on 88 minutes when running onto Mamadou Sakho’s pass, but goalkeeper Ben Hamer closed down the angle and made the block.
And the Reds were forced to endure another nervy moment, when Mamadou Sakho made a crucial block with the ball bobbling around the box following another Leicester corner.
All in all a very disappointing afternoon for the Reds, who despite feeling as though they threw away the points – in truth their performance hardly merited a victory.
