At the London Stadium this afternoon, West Ham United held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw, dealing a severe blow to their title chances.

Jarrod Bowen gave the Hammers the lead shortly before halftime, but the Reds quickly equalized through Andrew Robertson and Alphonse Areola’s own goal to reverse the tide early in the second half.

Even yet, David Moyes’s team managed to hold onto the match and delivered a significant blow to the Reds’ title challenge when Michail Antonio scored late in the day.

After suffering a humiliating 2-0 loss in the Merseyside Derby throughout the week, Liverpool knew going into Saturday’s midday kickoff that they would need to win every game they had left in order to be in contention for the league championship. Conversely, West Ham United began the day in ninth position with 48 points and is still in the running to make it to Europe this year.

After making six changes apiece in their previous two games against Fulham and Everton, Jurgen Klopp decided to make five changes to his squad today afternoon. Klopp has been rotating his team frequently during the championship race run-in this season.

Liverpool was in control right away.West Ham appeared content to sit back and prepare to play on the counter, while Liverpool started the game on the front foot, controlling territory and possession and setting the pace of play.

Ten minutes into the game, the Reds had their first genuine chance when a left-wing cross was attempted. Cody Gakpo did not connect well with the ball, but it fell neatly to Harvey Elliot, who took a strong shot at goal but only managed to strike the side netting from a pretty tight angle.

Five minutes later, Bowen’s intercept of a sloppy pass from Elliot on the halfway line revealed West Ham’s game plan. The Hammers’ striker pushed his way into a shooting position and hit a strong low shot that was directed toward goal, but Alisson easily stopped it.

The visitors had 72% of the possession at halftime and had scored their first set-piece of the game from 25 yards out. Trent Alexander-Arnold took the free kick and tried to score again, but this time he couldn’t match his recent strike against Fulham, sending the ball over the bar and into the seats.

When the half-hour mark drew near, Liverpool felt they should have been awarded a penalty after Luis Diaz broke through the Hammers’ defense, only to see Kurt Zouma block his shot and Areola bring Gakpo down in the box. After more than two minutes of VAR review for what appeared to be a fairly clear call, Anthony Taylor initially pointed to the penalty spot, but the ruling was reversed and Diaz was found to have been offside.

For the most part of the half, West Ham was disciplined out of possession as Liverpool continued to struggle with finishing, managing just two of their eleven attempts on goal at that point.

The Reds were then forced to pay for their carelessness just before the half, as Bowen forced an excellent stop from Alisson after they lost control in their defensive third. But Bowen’s header from the center of the box on Mohammed Kudus’s subsequent corner found the back of the net, giving the England international his 20th goal of the year—16 of which have come in the Premier League.

To stay in the running for the league title, Liverpool had to do a complete 180-degree turn around after the break. They got off to the ideal start in the second half when Diaz, who was arguably their best player in the opening forty-five minutes, found Robertson in the opposing box. Areola tried a stop, but was unable to get enough to divert the left-back’s shot wide as it crashed into the net off the post.

The Reds appeared to have recovered greatly after their halftime team talk, as they were creating opportunities nearly effortlessly and had the opportunity to grab the lead several times before the hour had passed. In the 51st minute, Ryan Gravenberch wasted a fantastic opportunity with a miskick from six yards out. Three minutes later, Gakpo was in the center of the box, waiting for his chance to score, but Angelo Ogbonna blocked it.

As the visitors applied more pressure in the last 30 minutes, West Ham tried their hardest to hold on, but they were unable to maintain parity for very long. Five minutes after the hour, the hosts were unable to clear an Alexander-Arnold corner, which fell to Gakpo. His mishit attempt bounced off Ogbonna, Tomas Soucek, and Areola before crossing the goal line for the Hammers.

West Ham attempted to surge forward in an attempt to pull even, but Klopp’s team was finding gaps to close the score. By the 75th minute of the game, the visitors had registered 23 shots on goal, but they were still only ahead by one.

Antonio’s equalizer dashes Liverpool’s hopes of winning the title.After scoring the first goal, Bowen was largely unnoticed, but he later proved to be the deciding factor for the Hammers once more. Bowen found Antonio with a pinpoint short cross that went between two Liverpool defenders, and the striker expertly took advantage of the opportunity to tie the score and set up an exciting finale.

The final five minutes of play were intense as the visitors threw everything at the ball and the Hammers rallied everyone to go behind it.

In the last minute of regulation time, Mohamed Salah attempted to find Darwin Nunez on the edge of the box after Mohamed Ward-Prowse’s corner was cleared by Liverpool. However, the pass fell just behind the Uruguayan player. Though Elliot was able to recover, his dipping attempt was blocked by the crossbar and went out of play.

While Liverpool has only won one of their past five league games and will need a large amount of luck to pass Arsenal and Manchester City for the title, West Ham battled back during stoppage time to earn a crucial point.

With 75 points, the Reds are still in third position, one point behind Man City and two behind Arsenal. Additionally, they have played two more games than the Citizens and one more than the Gunners.

After 35 games, West Ham has 49 points, good for eighth place. Next Sunday, they will play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.