Liverpool reclaimed the Premier league lead in an enthralling title race as Alexis Mac Allister's thunderbolt and a late header by Cody Gakpo secured a nervy 3-1 home victory over bottom club Sheffield United on Thursday.
Juergen Klopp's side have 70 points from 30 games, two ahead of Arsenal and three more than champions Manchester City, both of whom won on Wednesday to crank up the pressure.
A bizarre opener by Darwin Nunez after 17 minutes when he closed down keeper Ivo Grbic and blocked his attempted clearance into the net looked set to open the floodgates as Liverpool sought the win they needed to dislodge Arsenal from top spot.
But the Reds were way below their best and an adventurous Sheffield United side stunned the Anfield crowd shortly after half-time when a Connor Bradley own goal levelled the scores.
The visitors looked capable of hanging on for a shock point before a loose ball came out to Mac Allister in the 76th minute and he smashed a swerving right-foot effort into the top corner.
Gakpo then made sure of the points in the 90th as Liverpool took another step towards the perfect Klopp send-off as the manager prepares to leave at the end of the season.
"We had to dig very deep, but that is normal. Our attitude was good, the football was not great in a lot of moments," Klopp said. "Then Macca's goal was the complete game changer."
Sheffield United are 10 points adrift of the safety zone and look set for a swift return to the Championship.
Chelsea staged a last-gasp comeback to beat Manchester United 4-3 with Cole Palmer bagging a hat-trick to turn a madcap match on its head after the Reds seemed to have staged their own unlikely turnaround in a thriller.
Chelsea's top-scorer Palmer struck twice deep into added time at Stamford Bridge to save the Blues who were on the verge of a 3-2 home defeat. United remain in sixth spot and still 11 points behind fourth-placed Villa albeit with a game in hand.
Timed at 100 minutes and 39 seconds, Palmer's clincher was the latest winning goal on record in a Premier League game.
Chelsea had raced into a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes with a strike by captain Conor Gallagher and a Palmer penalty.
Goals by Alejandro Garnacho - after a Moises Caicedo error - and Bruno Fernandes before halft-ime and another in the 67th minutes by Garnacho turned the tide towards United, who are chasing qualification for next season's Champions League.
But with the Blues looking beaten, Diogo Dalot brought down Noni Madueke in the box and after a nail-biting VAR check Palmer stroked home from the spot for the second time on the night to level the match at 3-3 in the 10th minute of added time.
A minute later, he blasted a shot that deflected off United midfielder Scott McTominay into the net to claim his 16th league goal of the season and send the home fans into raptures.
