Liverpool lets a 3-0 lead to Crystal Palace slip in a 3-3 draw at Selhurst Park

LIVERPOOL has all but handed the EPL title to Manchester City, letting go of a 3-0 lead with 11 minutes left to draw 3-3 against Crystal Palace.

LIVERPOOL regained the lead in the English Premier League but the crown slipped further from its grasp as it threw away a three-goal lead in a 3-3 draw away to Crystal Palace.

The stunning outcome put Liverpool a point above Manchester City, but City has a game in hand and can win its second title in three years with four points from its last two games.

Luis Suarez was in tears after the clash.

Liverpool was romping to a bonus big win to help its goal difference thanks to a first-half goal by Joe Allen before Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez scored in quick succession in the second to have the Reds leading 3-0 by the 55th minute.

Then, Damian Delaney exposed Liverpool’s vulnerability to counterattacks as he scored in the 79th, launching a dramatic turnaround and deflating the Reds. They didn’t recover, as Dwight Gayle cut the deficit to one two minutes later, and drew level with his second goal in the 88th.

Liverpool couldn’t scrap a winner home in a frantic late goalmouth scramble late in the game.

Suarez, the league’s new player of the year, was in tears on the final whistle and covered his face with his shirt as he left the pitch, with his team now highly unlikely to claim a first title in 24 years.

The title race is certain to go to the last day of the season on Sunday, and City’s superior goal difference means a win and a draw from its last two games is almost certain to be enough to clinch the title. City faces Aston Villa on Wednesday, and West Ham United on Sunday, both at home.

Liverpool started strongly and seemed to have put the preceding 2-0 defeat to Chelsea behind it when Allen darted to the far post to head in Steven Gerrard’s corner, his first league goal in over two years.

Crystal Palace's English striker Dwight Gayle did the damage.

Leading only 1-0 at the break, Liverpool came out fighting in the second half, forcing Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni to tip a Sturridge shot onto the post in acrobatic style, before Suarez missed an open goal on the rebound.

Sturridge doubled Liverpool’s lead with a deflected shot on 51 minutes, and Suarez combined with Raheem Sterling to make it 3-0 with a calm low finish two minutes later.

Chasing a big win to reduce City’s goal-difference advantage, Liverpool continued to pour men forward and was repeatedly caught on the counterattack as Palace scored three goals in the space of nine minutes.

SUAREZ JOINS SHEARER, RONALDO IN RECORD BOOKS

Two heartbroken footballers.

Delaney’s 25-yard speculative shot veered in off Glen Johnson’s leg into the top-right corner of the net, then Gayle scored his first, coolly finishing off a Yannick Bolasie cross.

Gayle leveled in the 88th, slotting past goalkeeper Simon Mignolet when Glenn Murray controlled a long pass.

It should’ve been so different.

Liverpool twice had strong penalty appeals turned down by referee Mark Clattenburg, first when Johnson was floored by Bolasie midway through the first half, then shortly after the break when Suarez argued furiously for a spot kick, but earned himself only a yellow card for doing so.

Palace’s final home game of the season saw the home crowd leave in buoyant mood following a season in which the London team was expected to battle only against relegation in its first season since returning to the Premier League.

Palace can no longer overtake 10th-place Stoke City, and will secure 11th with a point away to relegated Fulham on Sunday.

SIX REASONS TO STILL BE UPBEAT IF YOU’RE A REDS FAN

1. You’re still 21 points above Manchester United

2. You’re up against Manchester City, so anything could happen

3. If someone said you’d be in this position at the start of the season you’d have been throwing cartwheels

4. Steven Gerrard’s slip vs Chelsea will not be the only thing remembered for costing you the title

5. If Luis Suarez can avoid a ban next year his goals could win the league with games to spare

6. You’re still 21 points above Manchester United (did we already say that?)

Luis Suarez was gutted.

Originally published as Liverpool lets a 3-0 lead to Crystal Palace slip in a 3-3 draw at Selhurst Park