Premier League : Title race back on as City end Liverpool's unbeaten record

Gripping game at The Etihad sees City inflict a first defeat on Liverpool this season to reignite the title fire. Joe Dyer has the latest odds from the Premier League winner market...

Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a title race.

The Premier League saved the best until last from the Christmas fixture list when the Premier League favourites Liverpool went to the current champions for a game that could prove to be pivotal to this season's title race.

A win for Liverpool would have taken them 10 points clear, but defeat would close the gap to four.

And a City side that had endured a rare poor spell took their chance to show the title pretenders they mean business, coming out of the fixture with a 2-1 win.

The title odds now show Liverpool at 1.93, City 2.34 and Spurs 20.00.

City were ahead through Sergio Aguero's sublime lifted finish late in the first half and it took the introduction of Fabinho to shake an oddly subdued Liverpool from an off-key performance.

The league leaders were level within seven minutes when Roberto Firmino headed home an Andy Robertson cross.

But City, winners of nine of their 10 league matches at home this season, stepped it up and were back ahead eight minutes later when Leroy Sane struck a sublime left-footed cross-shot past Allison.

The final 15 minutes saw chances at both ends but nothing stuck and we are now left with a four point gap between Liverpool and City with Spurs trailing the leaders by six, and the prospect of a title race that could go to the wire.

After trading at 1.64 in the Premier League Winner market at kick-off, it was Liverpool who shortened first during the first half, hitting a low of 1.58 when Sadio Mane struck the foot of the post before John Stones cleared the ball off the line in what would have been a freak Ederson own goal.

But it was the Citizens who made the breakthrough just before the interval, Sergio Aguerofinishing superbly from a tight angle after some good work from Bernardo Silva.

With Man City leading 1-0, Liverpool drifted to 1.87 to win the title while City themselves shortened to 2.48 from 2.88 at kick-off.

The market fluctuations weren't about to stop there however. Jurgen Klopp's men stepped up the tempo shortly after the hour mark and duly found an equaliser when Roberto Firminio nodded home unmarked at the far post. With Liverpool seemingly growing in confidence they shortened to 1.60 in the Premier League Winner market with City now out to 3.00.

But the final twist of the game came with just under 20 minutes to go, Leroy Sane burst free down the left, ran into the box and fired a low drive that found the back of the net via the far post, much to the delight of those who backed City to win 2-1 on the night at an in-play high of 14.00.