Haaland hat-trick chaos as City edge Liverpool in Premier League live thriller

Football results today are wild: Haaland hits a hat-trick, Salah answers back, and the title race explodes. One late VAR twist changed everything at Anfield.

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-02-26, the pitch is on fire... Football results today are absolutely off the charts, and nowhere hotter than Anfield, where Liverpool and Manchester City just served up a Premier League live classic that will be replayed for years. Goals, drama, controversy – and of course Erling Haaland right at the centre of it all.

The headline: Manchester City edged Liverpool 4-3 in a breathless, end?to?end war that swung every few minutes. Erling Haaland ripped in a ruthless hat-trick, while Mohamed Salah tried to drag Liverpool back with two ice-cold finishes of his own. One final VAR check in stoppage time had the whole stadium holding its breath.

Seven-goal madness at Anfield

City started like a team that wanted to kill the noise early. On 12 minutes, Kevin De Bruyne floated one of those trademark half-space crosses and Erling Haaland bullied his way between Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté to smash a header past Alisson for 0-1. Classic Haaland: one sniff, one goal.

Liverpool answered with their own superstar. In the 25th minute, Trent Alexander-Arnold switched play brilliantly, Luis Díaz drove inside and slipped a clever reverse pass into Mohamed Salah. One touch to set, second to whip it low into the far corner past Ederson – 1-1 and Anfield absolutely erupted.

But City’s front line looked lethal every time they broke. In the 39th minute, Phil Foden danced in from the left, played a sharp one-two with Bernardo Silva, and when the ball deflected kindly, Haaland pounced again – low, left-foot finish from inside the box for 1-2. Poacher’s instinct, complete composure.

Right after half-time, Liverpool flew out of the blocks. Dominik Szoboszlai pressed high, pinched the ball from Rodri and immediately fed Darwin Núñez. The Uruguayan cut inside and ripped a powerful strike that Ederson could only parry, and who else but Salah was there to follow up and slam in the rebound for 2-2. Two goals for the Egyptian King, and at that point he looked unplayable.

Then came maybe the goal of the game. On 65 minutes, City broke from a Liverpool corner. De Bruyne carried the ball 40 yards, drew three defenders and slipped it right to Phil Foden. The winger chopped onto his left and curled a stunning shot into the top far corner – Alisson got fingertips but no chance. 2-3, Foden on the scoresheet, and City back in control.

Liverpool refused to die. Jurgen Klopp threw on fresh legs – Diogo Jota and Harvey Elliott – and the tempo went nuclear. In the 78th minute, Alexander-Arnold whipped in a teasing free-kick, Van Dijk rose highest and powered a header into the net for 3-3. Anfield shook, Van Dijk roared at the Kop, and suddenly you felt like Liverpool might just steal it.

Instead, it was Haaland again who delivered the final punch. In the 88th minute, substitute Julián Álvarez slipped a clever pass between the lines, Haaland timed his run perfectly, shrugged off Konaté and slid the ball calmly under Alisson for his hat-trick and 3-4. Cold-blooded. That’s what world-class No. 9s do.

VAR drama in stoppage time

The chaos wasn’t done. Deep into stoppage time, Liverpool thought they had a penalty when Núñez went down under a challenge from Rúben Dias. Referee pointed to the spot, the Kop exploded… and then VAR stepped in. After a long on-field review, the ref overturned the decision, ruling Núñez had initiated the contact. Cue absolute fury in the stands and on social media.

Haaland finished the night as the undeniable hero with three goals, bullying centre-backs and being ice-cold in front of goal. On the flip side, Salah, despite his brace and constant threat, will feel robbed not to come away with at least a point. Van Dijk had a big moment with his header but was twice beaten in critical duels with Haaland – not a night he’ll want to watch back too often.

For City, De Bruyne’s creativity and Foden’s energy were huge. For Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold’s delivery was a weapon, and Szoboszlai’s pressing gave them life, but defensively they were way too open against this level of firepower.

What this does to the title race

With these football results today, the Premier League title race just tilted in City’s favour again. Those three points at Anfield are gigantic. City jump back to the top of the football league table, nudging ahead of Liverpool in what already felt like a two-horse race. Liverpool’s defeat doesn’t kill their chances, but it puts massive pressure on them to be almost perfect from here on.

City’s consistency and Haaland’s ridiculous scoring run are starting to look ominous. With the Champions League news also buzzing around them, Pep Guardiola suddenly has his side peaking at exactly the right time, while Klopp has to fix a leaky back line fast.

What does this mean for the title race? Click here for the live standings

Social media is losing its mind

If you jump on your phone right now, you can feel the heat. The official hashtag flying around tonight is clearly #LIVMCI, and it’s absolutely flooded. Clips of Haaland’s hat-trick, freeze-frames of the overturned penalty, tactical threads ripping apart both defences – the whole feed is chaos.

The biggest hot topic? That late VAR decision on Darwin Núñez. Liverpool fans are posting slow-motion replays from every angle, arguing there was enough contact to stand. Neutral fans are split, while City supporters are posting memes saying justice was done after previous calls went against them. It’s classic Premier League social-media warfare.

My take: Haaland is built for these nights

In my opinion, this is exactly the kind of game that proves why Erling Haaland is different. Away at Anfield, with the crowd on top of you and momentum swinging both ways, most strikers go hiding. He just kept demanding the ball and burying chances like he was playing in the park. That third goal, so late, with so much pressure, is pure killer instinct.

On the other side, I still think Liverpool’s attack is absolutely elite. Salah was sensational again – his movement, his composure, the way he drags defenders around. But if Klopp doesn’t tighten up that back line, nights like this will keep slipping away. Conceding four at home in a title race is brutal, no matter how electric the game was.

Tactically, Guardiola’s willingness to leave space in behind almost backfired, but his faith in his front line to outscore anyone proved right. It felt like a Champions League semi-final more than just another league game – exactly the kind of soccer news that goes viral worldwide.

What next?

From here, all eyes move to how both teams react. City can build a serious gap if they follow this up with another win, while Liverpool now almost have to treat every remaining match like a cup final. The football results today didn’t just give us a classic – they might have just drawn the battle lines for the rest of the season.

Want to see exactly how tight it is at the top, who’s chasing European spots, and which clubs are sliding into danger? This result shook up the whole board.

Check full stats & standings now

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