Exhausted, injury-hit and relying on a bunch of academy prospects, Liverpool continue to pull off victories in the business end of Jurgen Klopp's final season in charge.
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No Premier League win by the Reds has ever been sealed as late as the one at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez came off the bench and glanced home a header in the ninth minute of stoppage time to sink Forest 1-0 and move Liverpool four points clear.
It was a sixth straight win in all competitions for Liverpool -- and a fourth in an 11-day span that included their League Cup final win over Chelsea last weekend.
"If you'd told me 12 days ago we would win all four games, I would have said no chance -- it was impossible," said Klopp.
"In the circumstances, winning the games is ridiculous."
Second-placed Manchester City will look to restore the gap to just one point by beating Manchester United at home on Sunday. Then, next for Liverpool and City in the league - a seismic meeting at Anfield.
Even though Liverpool's injuries are relenting somewhat, the likes of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones are still missing.
Klopp started 19-year-old Bobby Clark in midfield alongside redeployed defender Joe Gomez. Jayden Danns, an 18-year-old forward, came on as substitute for his league debut.
There were angry scenes among Forest players and coaching staff after the final whistle, with even owner Evangelos Marinakis protesting on the touchline.
Eight minutes of time had been officially added by the referee, which was perhaps the cause of Forest's complaints along with a potential infringement in Liverpool's area.
In the battle for fourth, Aston Villa responded to Tottenham's come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace by scoring an 89th-minute winner at Luton.
Lucas Digne headed in the clincher for Villa in a 3-2 win at Kenilworth Road after the visitors squandered a 2-0 lead. Villa's Ollie Watkins scored in the 24th and 38th minutes to move to 16 goals in the league, behind only Man City's Erling Haaland on 17.
Villa are fourth, five points above Spurs, having played one game more.
Tottenham produced a dazzling spell of three goals in 11 second-half minutes against Palace after falling behind to Eberechi Eze's curling free kick in the 59th.
Timo Werner -- with his first goal for Tottenham -- Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min netted for the hosts.
Chelsea couldn't give Mauricio Pochettino the present of a victory on his 52nd birthday. Instead, the Argentine manager got the bird from fans in a 2-2 draw at Brentford.
When Yoane Wissa put Brentford 2-1 ahead with a spectacular overhead kick in the 69th, Chelsea's away contingent began singing the name of former manager Jose Mourinho as well as calling for Pochettino to go.
"I was asked before if I feel the love from the fans -- no," Pochettino said after the game. "I'm not worried. We need to accept this relationship. You win your relationship through winning games.
"I will continue to work and try to change this perception. The team is fighting."
The Blues rescued a point through Axel Disasi's header from Cole Palmer's cross in the 83rd, leaving them 11th in the table.
There were also 3-0 home wins for Newcastle against Wolves and Fulham against Brighton, while West Ham won at Everton 3-1 thanks to two stoppage-time goals.
Australian Associated Press
