Manchester City scored twice in the last six minutes to draw 3-3 with Sunderland and keep its 15-month unbeaten home record in the English Premier League on Saturday.
City wanted to put pressure on leader Manchester United and get payback for January's last-minute defeat against Sunderland but Sebastian Larsson put the visitors ahead in the 31st.
Mario Balotelli leveled the scores with a disputed 43rd-minute penalty but Nicklas Bendtner restored Sunderland's lead two minutes later and Larsson's second goal made it 3-1 in the 55th.
Balotelli scored again in the 85th and Aleksandar Kolarov equalized a minute later.
City has not lost at Etihad Stadium since December 2010's 2-1 defeat to Everton but its 20-game winning streak there is over.
City's second straight draw means United could go five points clear with seven games remaining if it beats Blackburn on Monday. City rallied for last weekend's 1-1 draw at Stoke and needed an even bigger comeback against Sunderland, which beat City 1-0 in January.
Larsson scored with a low shot into the corner from the edge of the area in the 31st and, although Balotelli leveled with a contentious penalty awarded for Craig Gardner's challenge on Edin Dzeko, City trailed at halftime for the first time this season after Bendtner headed in Stephane Sessegnon's cross.
Larsson made it 3-1 with a far-post finish from Bendtner's cross and City's frustrations showed as Balotelli and substitute Carlos Tevez apparently argued over who would take a free kick. Kolarov eventually took it, to no avail.
But Balotelli reduced the deficit with a long-range shot and Kolarov smashed in an equalizer from substitute David Pizarro's set-up.
City has 71 points to United's 73.
