Premier League Gameweek 25
Liverpool
Feb 8, 2026 4.30pm
1
2
HT : 0 0
FT Anfield
Man City
  • Dominik Szoboszlai 74' goal
  • Curtis Jones 85' yellowcard
  • Federico Chiesa 90'+4' yellowcard
  • yellowcard Rayan Cherki 61'
  • yellowcard Ruben Dias 61'
  • goal Bernardo Silva 84'
  • yellowcard Erling Haaland 90'+3'
  • yellowcard Nathan Ake 90'+6'

Liverpool 1-2 Man City: Highlights, man of the match, stats as Erling Haaland ends Anfield hoodoo in huge title statement

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St-Erling! Haaland ends Liverpool hoodoo to keep title race alive
© Imago / Pro Sports Images

​​​​​​Erling Haaland ended his Anfield hoodoo in extraordinary circumstances as Manchester City came from behind to beat Liverpool 2-1 and keep the Premier League title race alive.

Under pressure to respond to Arsenal's 3-0 beating of Sunderland the day before, Pep Guardiola's men burst out of the traps and pinned the reigning champions back during the opening 30 minutes, thanks in no small part to some Reds errors.

Man City failed to make their pressure pay, though, and Arne Slot's men started to ask a couple of questions of the Sky Blues' backline as the first half progressed, albeit without reward.

The Reds continued to relentlessly press forward, though, and their reward arrived in spectacular style, as free-kick king Dominik Szoboszlai fired in an unbelievable set-piece in the final 20 minutes.

However, Bernardo Silva swiftly equalised for the away side, before Alisson Becker conceded a late penalty, and Haaland held his nerve to spark Mancunian mayhem in the away end.

Rayan Cherki had seemingly put the cherry on top in the 100th minute, but in a chaotic finale, the Frenchman's goal was chalked off due to Szoboszlai pulling Haaland back as the ball trickled into an empty net, triggering a red card for the Hungarian.

Just over two hours after the first whistle blew, the Sky Blues clung on for an outrageous win that keeps them six points behind Arsenal in the Premier League table, while sixth-placed Liverpool stay five points off the top four.

SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

What just happened?

Where to even begin dissecting this result - Liverpool were sloppy and careless in the opening exchanges and were perhaps fortunate not to concede in the opening half-hour, but the hosts' response was immediate and effective.

Szoboszlai made his case for a £300k-per-week contract amid ongoing speculation over his future, but two defensive disasters from the Reds gifted City a route back into the game; to the Sky Blues' credit, they never once thought about giving up.

The farcical VAR situation at the death will no doubt dominate the post-game talk and headlines, and arguably rightly so - was that one of those situations where common sense should prevail over the established rules?

Enough about that inexplicable incident, though - today belonged to Man City, who will not let Arsenal trot off into the title sunset without a monumental fight.

LIVERPOOL VS. MAN CITY HIGHLIGHTS

Hugo Ekitike miss vs. Man City (56th min, Liverpool 0-0 Man City)

A glorious chance goes begging!

It all stems from one long punt forward from Alisson, after which Hugo Ekitike appears to pick the wrong pass, slightly behind Salah on the left.

However, the Egyptian produces a marvellous trivela cross back to Ekitike, who gets his header all wrong and watches the ball trickle wide from a glorious position.

Dominik Szoboszlai goal vs. Man City (74th min, Liverpool 1-0 Man City)

Oh. My. Word. Give Dom his dough.

The scintillating Szoboszlai lines up a free kick in a central area a good 30 yards from goal and unleashes an outrageous knuckleball, which Gianluigi Donnarumma can only stand and watch kiss the inside of the post on its way in.

Milos Kerkez and Ibrahima Konate both have their hands on their heads, and rightly so - that was extraordinary.

Bernardo Silva goal vs. Liverpool (84th min, Liverpool 1-1 Man City)

Strap in for an unmissable final 10 minutes.

Rayan Cherki's cross deflects kindly onto the head of Haaland, who nods the ball beyond the Liverpool backline to Silva, who sweeps home past Alisson.

Szoboszlai - the set-piece hero - has now become the villain, having played Silva onside for the Sky Blues' equaliser.

Erling Haaland goal vs. Liverpool (90+3 min, Liverpool 1-2 Man City)

Massive. 

Matheus Nunes just gets his boot to the ball before Alisson in the box, and the Brazilian clatters into his Portuguese compatriot, giving away a stonewall penalty.

Haaland - who had never scored at Anfield before today - coolly places the ball into the bottom corner to surely steal all three points for Man City!

Dominik Szoboszlai red card (90+13 min, Liverpool 1-2 Man City)

Just when we think we have seen it all... something like this happens.

We start with a Donnarumma wonder save, which triggers a corner that Alisson comes forward for, and the Brazilian stays forward as the ball remains in the City half.

Guardiola's men eventually wrestle possession back, Cherki goes for an open goal from close to the halfway line, and the ball trickles over the line before either Haaland or Szoboszlai can touch it.

Both the Hungarian and the Norwegian had a tug of each other's shirt, which forces Craig Pawson to go to the monitor and make a nonsensical decision in the eyes of any non-referee.

The goal is chalked off, Szoboszlai is sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity, and City waste the free kick. Make sense of that.

MAN OF THE MATCH - ERLING HAALAND

Szoboszlai's inexplicable plight in just 20 minutes needs to be studied, but the man whose shirt he wanted a piece of - and vice versa - demonstrated his X-factor quality when City needed it most.

After a well-timed header for Silva's equaliser, Haaland was unfazed by the pressure of a last-minute penalty away to the champions - might he just make the difference in this unpredictable title run-in?

LIVERPOOL VS. MAN CITY MATCH STATS

Possession: Liverpool 47%-53% Man City

Shots: Liverpool 15-15 Man City

Shots on target: Liverpool 4-7 Man City

Corners: Liverpool 5-4 Man City

Fouls: Liverpool 13-16 Man City

BEST STATS

WHAT NEXT?

Liverpool's midweek assignment is a challenging trip to Sunderland on Wednesday night, which precedes their FA Cup fourth-round clash at home to Brighton & Hove Albion next Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Man City welcome Fulham to the Etihad on Wednesday, before hosting Salford City in the cup, seeking a repeat of their 8-0 destruction of the League Two side from last season.

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