Perhaps it was a fitting finish for two of the most consistent teams in the history of English football.
Liverpool won, but so did Manchester City and Pep Guardiola's team became the first team to retain the Premier League title since Manchester United in 2009.
The final margin of the toughest of title races - City's 98 points to Liverpool's 97 - sounded more like a basketball score, but Pep Guardiola's men held on to their lead.
They defeated Brighton 4-1 to finish the season with 14 consecutive wins - no one else has ever ended in such emphatic fashion - and their fourth league title in seven years.
For Liverpool, the 29-year wait goes on despite their 2-0 win over Wolves.
They finished second for the fifth time since they were last champions in 1990. The third-highest points tally in English football was not enough.
For the Reds, the cruelty lay not just in the numbers but the circumstances.
They were top of the virtual standings for 21 minutes yesterday, a period in which they led and City conceded before scoring twice and going to win in emphatic fashion.
The champions made a nervous start. Brighton had scored only twice in nine games, but Glenn Murray headed in his 15th goal of the season from a corner.
It was the first goal City had conceded in five games and the first time they had been behind in the Premier League since January. But theirs was the response of champions as they trailed for only 83 seconds.
A FIGHT UNTIL THE END
It was the hardest and most satisfying Premier League ever. Liverpool were exceptional this year. We've got an incredible desire to overachieve and we're looking forward to the FA Cup final now.
VINCENT KOMPANY, Man City captain on a gruelling but ultimately rewarding season.
£422m
Cost of Manchester City's squad. Their most expensive buy is Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez, who last year signed for £60 million (S$106.3 million) and has been a benchwarmer before he scored in the 4-1 win over Brighton yesterday.
68.1%
City's league-high possession figure.
8
It is the eighth time that the Premier League race has gone down to the final day - and the team who started the day on top have always won the title.
7
Points City trailed Liverpool until they won 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Jan 3 in what remains the Reds' only league defeat this season.
Sergio Aguero has a track record of scoring on the final day, deciding the title in the 94th minute in 2012, and he was quick to level with a typically clinical finish after David Silva flicked Aymeric Laporte's pass into his path.
Riyad Mahrez was a surprise selection for just his fourth league start of this year, but Guardiola's choice was justified.
If City's record signing has been a bit-part player for the second half of the campaign, he repaid much of his £60 million (S$106.3 million) fee with two crucial contributions.
He took the corner that Laporte, previously City's biggest buy, headed in before the Algerian delivered a classy goal himself.
Mahrez's October penalty miss at Anfield had threatened to be the defining moment of his season.
Instead, it may be remembered for the shot that nestled in the top corner at the Amex Stadium in the 63rd minute. Thereafter, Ilkay Gundogan curled in a fourth.
City have 198 points in two seasons, including 55 out of 57 in the first half of 2017-18 and 54 from 57 in the second period of this campaign.
They are remarkable statistics and Guardiola, who won his eighth league title in 10 seasons, has warned they will get even better.
The lead had changed hands 32 times in the title race as City and Liverpool had traded wins.
In a way, it did again as, amid false reports in the crowd that Brighton were 2-0 up, Liverpool led against Wolves when Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross took a deflection off Willy Boly and fell to Sadio Mane.
The same pair combined for the second, Mane, with a hint of offside, heading his 26th goal of the season, 22 in the Premier League.
Perhaps even more remarkably, it was a 13th league assist for right-back Alexander-Arnold, a record for a defender.
Virgil van Dijk headed against the bar, while Wolves' Matt Doherty struck the upright. Alisson saved twice from Diogo Jota as Wolves, the scourge of the elite with six wins against the top six, almost equalised before Mane's second.
It took the winger level with teammate Mohamed Salah and Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the scoring stakes. It got Liverpool two shares of the Golden Boot, but that was not the silverware they wanted.
How the final day unfolded
17TH MIN
ADVANTAGE LIVERPOOL
Sadio Mane puts the Reds 1-0 up against Wolves while it is still goal-less at Brighton.
27TH MIN
ADVANTAGE LIVERPOOL
Brighton take a shock 1-0 lead thanks to Glenn Murray's near-post header from a corner. But 83 seconds later...
28TH MIN
ADVANTAGE LIVERPOOL
Huge sigh of relief from City fans as Sergio Aguero equalises.
38TH MIN
ADVANTAGE MAN CITY
Towering header by Aymeric Laporte puts City 2-1 ahead and back in control of their destiny.
63RD MIN
ADVANTAGE MAN CITY
After a wonderful piece of skill by Riyad Mahrez, the champions are 3-1 up and have one hand on the trophy.
72ND MIN
ADVANTAGE MAN CITY
Stunning free kick from Ilkay Gundogan. The long wait goes on for Liverpool.
Football: Liverpool 'did all we could' in Premier League race, says Klopp Liverpool's German manager Jurgen Klopp applauds at the end of the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Klopp : Liverpool 'did all we could' in Premier League race
SINGAPORE — With the Singapore Premier League (SPL) kicking off this month, eight of the league's nine clubs will be playing at four designated stadiums they have to share this season. Mr
Eight clubs to share four stadiums for 2019 Singapore Premier
SINGAPORE - He was unveiled as Singapore football's new national coach on Thursday (May 30) but Tatsuma Yoshida wasted little time in stressing that teamwork within the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) will be crucial to leading the Lions to success.
Fandis are a happy family | Big Sports News
bigsportsnews.com/soccer/fandis-are-a-happy-family/
Fandi Ahmad was a proud coach and father, after watching his Singapore Under-22 side deliver a composed 3-0 Merlion Cup win over the Philippines last night with his two sons among the goalscorers. The semi-final win sends the Young Lions into tomorrow's final against Thailand, who beat Indonesia 2-1 earlier at the Jalan Besar Stadium yesterday.
Singapore national football team - Howling Pixel
Gazzaniga, 27, has made 10 Spurs appearances this season, including two in the Premier League when Lloris was unavailable in September. Lloris is much more experienced than Gazzaniga, but Jenas fears that the Frenchman's poor form could cost Spurs a place in the top four if manager Mauricio Pochettino doesn't make a change.
Jermaine Jenas calls on Spurs to drop Hugo Lloris for Paulo
Liverpool title bid hit by Matip injury. Agence-France Presse. 12 December 2018. Reblog. Share. Tweet. Share. Liverpool defender Joel Matip has been ruled out for up to six weeks. More.
Argentina had never managed to claim a World Cup point in six previous games. Japan began their quest to reach a third straight final with a poor goalless draw as Argentina earned their first ever point at a World Cup. The Japanese won the tournament in 2011 by beating the United States, who gained revenge four years later.
Women's World Cup: Argentina hold Japan for first point
Football: Chelsea boss Sarri demands more from 'individual' Hazard Hazard's future is a source of fevered speculation, with the player refusing to extend his current Chelsea deal, which expires
Football: Chelsea boss Sarri demands more from 'individual
Sergio Ramos does not believe that fans watching Real Madrid at the Club World Cup will see a much different side from the one which won the tournament last year, despite the absence of Cristiano
Ramos and Real Madrid are desperate to prove they don't need
Europa League: 10-man Arsenal slump to heavy loss as Chelsea earn big home win and there was another surprise in Spain where Slavia Prague held five-time Europa League champions Sevilla to a 2
Europa League: Chelsea too strong for Kiev, Arsenal slump at
Football: Liverpool back on top with 3-2 Newcastle win but
Liverpool dig deep to return to top of Premier League Liverpool go top with 3-2 win at Newcastle; Man City to face Leicester on Monday Night Football
DENVER (AP) — After giving up 39 points to Damian Lillard in the opener, the Denver Nuggets were determined to make sure Portland's role players would have to bear the burden of evening up the series. His teammates were up to the task on a night that Lillard, who came in averaging 34.8 points in
McCollum leads Blazers past cold Nuggets, 97-90
Lionel Messi was short of fitness and Barcelona lacked spark as a goalless draw away to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday offered fresh hope to their rivals in the title race. A thigh injury had limited Messi to 27 minutes against Real Madrid on Wednesday and while he played the full match at San Mames, Barca's assistant coach Jon Aspiazu had admitted
Barca give fresh hope to La Liga rivals after Bilbao stalemate
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