This wasn’t how things were meant to happen.
Having lost the League Cup final, Chelsea are out of the Champions League, out of the FA Cup and now the league title is out of their hands.
They’ve gone from a possible quadruple to being on a collision course with a trophyless campaign.
Hayes’ squad has had to deal with an intense fixture schedule and injuries have damaged their bid to make history.
But after their recent disappointments, they had hoped to finish on a high by winning the first of their two games in hand on City.
Beever-Jones and Macario tried to work openings with neat runs and passing sequences in the final third but Chelsea - without forwards Mayra Ramirez and Lauren James - lacked a much-needed end product.
Despite going behind early on, Liverpool fought tirelessly and looked increasingly inspired with every minute they managed to stay within reach.
Roman Haug and Mia Enderby combined to good effect as the Reds made the most of the wayward passing brought about by Chelsea’s frustration.