In the highly anticipated "Double Red" match of the 20th round of the Premier League that concluded in the early hours of January 6th, Beijing time, Liverpool was held to a 2-2 draw at home by Manchester United. Despite maintaining an unbeaten record in all competitions (20 wins and 4 draws), dropping points at home against a struggling Manchester United is clearly not a satisfying result for them.
Liverpool was targeted by Manchester United, while the other two major title contenders, Arsenal and Chelsea, also failed to seize the opportunity to close the gap. The London duo also "crashed" without winning this round, with Arsenal drawing 1-1 away after taking the lead against Brighton. They are currently 6 points behind Liverpool after playing one more game, temporarily ranking second in the league table.
Chelsea also drew 1-1 away after taking the lead against Crystal Palace, and after failing to win in the last four rounds (2 draws and 2 losses), they have dropped to fourth place in the league table.
On the contrary, reigning champions Manchester City have bounced back from the bottom, achieving two consecutive victories after defeating Leicester City and West Ham United, and rejoining the title race.
Currently, City is only 2 points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, and with one more game played, they are only 12 points behind league leaders Liverpool. Considering City's terrifying ability to catch up in the second half of the season, no one dares to rule them out of the title race prematurely.
In addition, Newcastle, who came from behind to beat Tottenham 2-1 this round, has risen to fifth place in the league table after winning six consecutive victories. Another dark horse, Nottingham Forest, has yet to play their match against Wolves this round. If they can win, Forest will equal Arsenal on points, also potentially disrupting the title race.