11 critical moments from the Premier League's greatest-ever title race

Manchester City had to win their final 14 matches of the season to capture the Premier League title. The competitiveness of their topsy-turvy battle with Liverpool was unprecedented and made for captivating viewing.

But this wasn't just two teams winning every match. There were fine margins, shock results and, of course, some of the best football ever seen in the English game. The Premier League is blessed to boast two incredibly talented squads.

Here are the 11 critical moments from an unforgettable title race.

Oct. 7 - Mahrez skies penalty

A match that was supposed to be rich in goals and intrigue withered into a subdued goalless draw. Rather than going for the win, avoiding defeat appeared to be the priority for both Liverpool and Manchester City.

But there was one incident worthy of discussion. Gabriel Jesus prepared to take a penalty after Leroy Sane was clumsily challenged by Virgil van Dijk in the box. However, following some touchline directives from Pep Guardiola, it was instead Riyad Mahrez who placed the ball on the spot after 86 minutes.

"During the training sessions, I see (Mahrez) every time taking penalties and it gives me a lot of confidence," Guardiola reflected post-match.

Mahrez blazed his effort over the bar. It was the Algerian's fifth miss from his last eight penalty attempts in the Premier League. Guardiola, a meticulous tactician, was unconvincing when he insisted he was unaware of Mahrez's poor record.

City - or, more accurately, Guardiola and Mahrez - had let a huge three points slip away at Anfield.

Dec. 2 - Origi bundles in derby winner

Jurgen Klopp turned to Divock Origi as a last resort. The Belgian was without a Premier League goal since May 2017, but December's Merseyside derby was trundling toward a disappointing 0-0 draw that would've put Manchester City four points clear with a vastly superior goal difference.

Van Dijk seemed to have wasted Liverpool's last chance when he sliced a volley into orbit, but Jordan Pickford was called into action when the ball plummeted back to earth. The Everton goalkeeper tried to tip the ball over for a corner, but it instead bounced twice on the crossbar before it fell to Origi.

The header sparked wild celebrations at Anfield, including Klopp's on-pitch sprint to embrace shot-stopper Alisson.

"The goal was lucky, of course, but our idea was clear: we wanted to win until the last second," Klopp said. "We wanted to show that by bringing strikers on. It was a long and open game. I think we deserved the three points."

Dec. 8 - Chelsea ignite Liverpool belief

Unfortunately, the enduring image from Chelsea's 2-0 defeat of Manchester City was the abhorrent abuse Raheem Sterling received from a few home fans at Stamford Bridge. The idiots in the stands deflected attention away from a professional, impressive display from their team.

Manchester City suffered their first league loss in eight months. Guardiola's men were wasteful but were ultimately undone by a spirited performance from Maurizio Sarri's side.

Celebrations were observed in Liverpool after the result:

The Reds finished the weekend one point clear atop the division. Many on Merseyside started to believe Klopp's clan could topple the City juggernaut.

Dec. 29 - Liverpool pull 9 points clear

Manchester City were on the wrong end of emphatic strikes from Crystal Palace and Leicester City players over the festive period, and Tottenham Hotspur's title pursuit had just taken a hit in a 3-1 reverse to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Liverpool took full advantage of their rivals' setbacks when a calamitous Arsenal visited the northwest. The Reds sauntered to a 5-1 victory to establish a nine-point lead over Spurs. Manchester City, who were third, sat 10 points behind.

Phil McNulty wrote for BBC Sport: "Liverpool's greatest test of the season now awaits when they travel to Manchester City - but such is the level of confidence surging through a team that looks more like the complete package with every passing week, it is a challenge they will accept without any degree of concern."

Jan. 3 - 1.12 centimeters

Manchester City responded to Liverpool's rout of Arsenal by beating Southampton the following day. But seven points still separated them from Liverpool. The match against the Merseysiders in early January, then, was a must-win encounter.

It was tense. The finale - when Liverpool launched aerial bombardments to Van Dijk, who was operating as a center-forward late in the game - was unrelenting. The key moment in the scuffle, however, belonged to John Stones, who atoned for an error with some superb athleticism.

Sadio Mane's effort was thwarted by the post, and Stones' desperation to get rid of the ball saw him smash it against his own goalkeeper, Ederson. The ball was looping into the net, but a desperate stretch from Stones stopped it from crossing the line while simultaneously pushing it by Mohamed Salah. It was a game of inches - or, to be precise, 1.12 centimeters.

Small margins were a feature throughout the match. Sergio Aguero's opener whistled into a tiny pocket of space between Alisson's right ear and the post; Sane's winner scraped the bottom of Trent Alexander-Arnold's boot before bobbling in via the woodwork.

City had ridden their luck but were now only four points adrift of table-topping Liverpool.

Jan. 7 - Liverpool reserves booted from FA Cup

Klopp had a plan to wrest a logistical advantage in the title race: sacrifice the FA Cup.

That is not to say the 2-1 defeat to Wolves was deliberate, but Klopp felt it was an ideal situation to hand debuts to teenagers Curtis Jones, Rafael Camacho, and Ki-Jana Hoever, and rare starts to the likes of Alberto Moreno and Simon Mignolet.

Bowing out of the tournament freed up Liverpool's calendar for warm-weather training in Dubai and Marbella, and meant they played three fewer games than Manchester City in January and two fewer in April.

Liverpool also exited the League Cup after one match, losing 2-1 at home to Chelsea with another XI that featured Mignolet and Moreno.

Feb. 5 - Origi's miss at West Ham

Liverpool were off-color and a tad fortunate at the London Stadium.

James Milner was clearly offside in the buildup to Mane's 22nd-minute opener, and then the Reds' backline could only resist West Ham United for six minutes until Michail Antonio's leveler.

Liverpool rarely tested the Irons thereafter until Origi mishit a golden opportunity with the last kick of the match. Naby Keita's lofted delivery found the hero from the Merseyside scuffle, but Origi - who, like Milner, was easily offside - contrived to whiff a shot straight at Lukasz Fabianski. The two points he earned against Everton were suddenly wiped out.

The result meant Liverpool had dropped four points in their past two league outings, allowing City to draw within three points of the top-flight summit. Were Liverpool showing a tendency to wobble?

Feb. 23 - Pochettino loses his cool

Tottenham dominated possession but, aside from a poked finish from fit-again Harry Kane, did little to seriously test Burnley's rearguard.

The Clarets punished their visitors, with Ashley Barnes tapping in the winner after 83 minutes. However, it was Chris Wood's 57th-minute opener - teed up by a quality Dwight McNeil corner - that appeared to be the source of Mauricio Pochettino's anger. The set-piece was awarded when the ball hit Jeff Hendrick last before dribbling out of play but, in fairness to referee Mike Dean, it was hard to spot.

What was even harder to decipher was Tottenham's title push. By the end of the weekend, Spurs were six points adrift of Liverpool and five behind of Manchester City.

"We made mistakes on the pitch and I made one at the end," Pochettino reflected on his outburst after the final whistle. "I needed to calm down, I wanted to find someone to blame because we cannot think now of being a real contender."

April 2 - Van Dijk's risk assessment

In approximately half a second, Van Dijk weighed up the pros and cons of Tottenham's two-on-one scenario. Moussa Sissoko had been a nucleus of Spurs' counter-attacks in the second half and was carrying the ball forward. To the Frenchman's right was Heung-Min Son, who had 11 Premier League goals despite starting only 18 matches.

So Van Dijk decided to block off a passing lane to Son while showing Sissoko onto his weaker left foot. It worked. Sissoko hesitated before posting a shot high into the Anfield Road end.

Spurs should have taken three points from Merseyside - Dele Alli also sent a curler narrowly over shortly after Sissoko's wayward welly - but Liverpool instead won when Hugo Lloris palmed the ball onto Toby Alderweireld's feet. The defender was charged with an own goal.

It was a huge outcome. Things were tending to fall in Liverpool's favor - they were fortunate in their previous outing at Fulham - and they were displaying a title winners' knack of bagging last-ditch goals.

April 28 - 2.95 centimeters

Manchester City's response to a painful Champions League elimination to Tottenham - beating Spurs a few days later before winning 2-0 at Manchester United - was commendable, but they had to rely on their low-energy reserves and fine margins (again) to edge a vital win at Turf Moor.

Aguero's short-range finish after a brief scramble crossed the line by just 29.51 millimeters before the ball was dealt with by Matthew Lowton. Overall, the distance the ball was from crossing the line before Stones met it against Liverpool in January plus the latest fine margin in Burnley amounted to 4.07 centimeters - the depth of your average paperback novel.

"I was happy for the technology," Aguero said after the win.

May 6 - 'Don't shoot'

Hamza Choudhury was right to step off Vincent Kompany and track the run of Sterling, who had scored 17 and assisted 10 times in the league. Kompany hadn't struck a shot on target from outside the area since 2013, and it appeared Manchester City were running out of ideas against Brendan Rodgers' tactically astute Leicester.

"Hey, Vinny. I said to you, 'Don't shoot,'" Aguero revealed to his captain after the match. "'No Vinny, no!'"

But Kompany puffed out his cheeks and hit a ferocious effort that swerved around the bulky frame of Harry Maguire and into Kasper Schmeichel's top corner. The 33-year-old had scored precious goals in the past - against Manchester United in 2012, Aston Villa in 2014, and Arsenal in 2017 - but none as remarkable as Monday's 25-yard screamer.

Liverpool fans may gesture to another moment as being crucial in the title race. Choudhury bustled his way forward with around three minutes of normal time left and found ex-Manchester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho lurking behind Aymeric Laporte. Somehow, the Nigerian steered the ball well wide with the goal begging.

Nevertheless, when the story of Manchester City's 2018-19 title success is retold, Kompany's long-distance rocket will be the dominant image. It was fitting that he received a standing ovation from both sets of fans in Brighton on the final day.