Liverpool, City

Liverpool stun City in late drama as Haaland fires but Salah has final say – Live chaos

07.02.2026 - 09:15:54

Liverpool edge Man City in a wild finish – Haaland scores again, but Salah and Núñez flip the script. Title race shaken. Who actually looks strongest now?

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-02-07, the pitch is on fire... Did you see that ending at Anfield?? If you were searching for football results today and somehow missed Liverpool v Manchester City, stop everything. This was pure chaos, pure adrenaline, and a massive punch to the Premier League title race.

Liverpool 3-2 Manchester City – Anfield loses its mind
The headline clash delivered absolutely everything: superstar goals, defensive brain-fades, and a finale that felt like a Champions League knockout night. Your Premier League live drama came in five acts, with the world watching Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne under the brightest spotlight.

City drew first blood. On 18 minutes, Erling Haaland did what Erling Haaland does. A slick move down the right saw Bernardo Silva slip the ball into space, Haaland bullied his marker, opened his body and whipped a ruthless left-foot finish into the far corner. 1-0, and you could almost hear the Golden Boot standings updating in real time – he just keeps stacking those top scorers today stats.

Liverpool’s response? Sudden and savage. On 33 minutes, Luis Díaz dragged them level. Trent Alexander-Arnold picked him out with a laser diagonal, Díaz chopped inside Kyle Walker and drilled low past Ederson at the near post. Anfield roared back to life. From that moment, the tempo was ridiculous.

Early second half, the hosts flipped it. In the 54th minute, Darwin Núñez turned all that chaos energy into a classic No.9 goal. A wicked cross from Andy Robertson caused confusion, Núñez attacked the space between Ruben Dias and John Stones and thumped a header in off the bar. 2-1 Liverpool, Núñez screaming, Klopp losing his mind on the touchline, the title race suddenly tilting red.

But you don’t bury this City side that easily. On 71 minutes, Kevin De Bruyne decided to remind everyone he’s still a cheat code. A short corner routine, a quick one-two with Phil Foden, and then a vicious right-foot strike from the edge of the box arrowed into the top corner. Alisson got fingertips to it, but no chance. 2-2, and the whole thing felt like it was heading for a draw that would keep the football league table tight at the top.

Then came the moment everyone is arguing about.

VAR drama and Salah’s ice-cold winner
On 89 minutes, Núñez spun in behind and went down under contact from Ruben Dias. The referee initially waved play on, but VAR told him to go to the monitor. Cue a full stadium screaming, City players surrounding the ref, and social media going nuclear. After a long check, the decision was made: penalty to Liverpool.

Up stepped Mohamed Salah. Massive pressure, title implications, Ederson doing his mind games routine on the line. Salah didn’t blink. He smashed it low to the keeper’s right, Ederson guessed correctly but the strike was too fierce. 90+2 minutes: Liverpool 3-2 Manchester City. Salah sprinted to the corner flag, sliding on his knees as teammates piled on. Haaland could only stare in disbelief – he’d scored again, but he left Anfield on the losing side.

In terms of star power, this one had it all:
  • Erling Haaland – another goal, the usual machine. But he’ll be furious: one big chance late on that he headed straight at Alisson could have flipped the script.
  • Mohamed Salah – not his most electric 90 minutes, but when it mattered, he was the absolute hero. Big players, big moments.
  • Kevin De Bruyne – a worldie strike, endless passing angles. Still, he got caught in transition a couple of times late as City chased the game.
  • Darwin Núñez – chaos king. One huge miss in the first half, but his goal and work rate made him a nightmare for City’s back line.
Defensively, both teams were wild. Stones and Dias looked rattled by Núñez’s movement and Diaz’s direct dribbling, while Liverpool’s back line gave Haaland way too much space early. For the neutral, though? This was everything you want from top-level soccer news on a Saturday night.

Title race twist: who’s really on top?
With that late Salah winner, Liverpool leapfrog City and crank the pressure up on everyone chasing Champions League spots below them. City, meanwhile, suddenly look a bit more human. Pep’s side are still right in the fight, but those dropped points make every upcoming game feel like a mini-final.

On the wider stage, wins elsewhere for Arsenal and a gritty draw for Manchester United mean the chasing pack is still stacked. If you’re trying to make sense of all the football results today, the only way to really feel the swing is to see the live standings.

What does this mean for the title race? Liverpool’s late surge tightens the gap at the top and drags City back into the scrum. Every slip now matters, especially with Champions League nights around the corner. Click here for the live standings

Champions League news watch: statement vibes
Nights like this feel like a teaser trailer for Europe. Liverpool playing at this intensity? No one wants them over two legs. City’s quality is still obvious – Haaland scoring, De Bruyne cooking – but the defensive cracks will have Real Madrid, Bayern and PSG licking their lips. The big boys in the Champions League news cycle will have clocked every second of this game.

Outside England, continental giants kept ticking. In La Liga, Jude Bellingham added another assist for Real Madrid in a tight 2-1 win, while in Ligue 1, Kylian Mbappé netted a brace for PSG, including a trademark cut-in-and-bend finish from the left. But the sheer noise, emotion and chaos of Anfield stole the global spotlight today.

Reporter's hot take: Klopp-style chaos still terrifies big teams
In my view, this game screamed one thing: Liverpool’s high-octane chaos is still the worst possible matchup for City’s control-freak football. When Anfield is breathing down your neck and Salah, Díaz and Núñez are running channels like they’re being chased, City’s back line looks mortal.

Pep’s obsession with control took a hit tonight. Haaland did his job, De Bruyne produced magic, but the rest of the team never fully smothered Liverpool’s waves of pressure. If this is a preview of a potential Champions League showdown, I’m backing the side that embraces the madness, not the one that fears it.

For me, though, the real storyline is Salah. People keep asking if this Liverpool era is fading, if he’s past his absolute peak – then he walks up in minute 92 with the whole league on his shoulders and buries the penalty like it’s a training drill. That’s world-class. That’s legacy stuff.

One last whistle: the race is officially wild
So yeah, if you came looking for football results today, you picked one of the most explosive nights of the season. Haaland scored, but City lost. Salah and Núñez delivered in the clutch. The title race just got messy, the Champions League contenders just sent fresh warnings, and every fan is double-checking the football league table to see who actually has the edge now.

Check full stats & standings now


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@ ad-hoc-news.de