Liverpool v Man City live drama: Salah & Haaland light up Premier League night
08.02.2026 - 21:41:11
Football results today: Liverpool 3-2 Man City – pure madness under the lights
From the first whistle, this didn’t feel like a normal game. This felt like a Champions League night squeezed into a Premier League war. The opening goal came fast: after just 11 minutes, Mohamed Salah did exactly what you expect from a legend. Cutting in from the right, he played a quick one-two with Dominik Szoboszlai and buried a left-foot curler into the far corner. 1-0 Liverpool, Anfield absolutely shaking.
But you know how this fixture works – blink and Erling Haaland punishes you. City equalised on 27 minutes when Kevin De Bruyne split the defence with a trademark slide-rule pass, Haaland took one touch and smashed low past the keeper. Clinical. That’s football results today at the very top: one half-chance and the Norwegian robot turns it into numbers.
The first half ended 1-1, but it never felt calm. De Bruyne was floating into pockets, Phil Foden drifting inside, while Salah and Luis Díaz were roasting City’s full-backs on the break. Every time Liverpool countered, you could almost hear the collective gasp around the stadium.
Second-half explosion: worldies, VAR, and a last-minute heartbreaker
Right after the restart, City thought they had Liverpool where they wanted them. On 53 minutes, De Bruyne swung in a brutal inswinging corner and Rúben Dias rose highest, thumping a header into the net for 2-1 City. For a few minutes, it looked like classic Guardiola control mode: keep the ball, kill the noise, take the points.
Liverpool said no. Huge no. Jürgen Klopp rolled the dice, throwing on extra attacking legs, and the game flipped again. On 68 minutes, a wild scramble in the box saw a blocked shot from Szoboszlai fall kindly to Darwin Núñez. The Uruguayan, chaos merchant-in-chief, smashed a first-time strike that deflected off John Stones and flew in. Officially given to Núñez, and Anfield went absolutely feral. 2-2, and the Premier League live script was ripped up again.
Then came the moment everyone is arguing about on social media. On 82 minutes, Haaland burst into the box and tumbled under a challenge from Virgil van Dijk. The referee waved play on, but VAR called him to the screen. After a long, painful pause, the decision stood: no penalty. The City bench was raging, Guardiola lost it on the touchline, and X is now drowning in slow-motion replays and conspiracy threads.
And because football doesn’t care about your blood pressure, there was still time for a winner. Deep into added time, on 90+3 minutes, Salah picked up the ball near halfway, slipped a perfect pass into Núñez, who drove into the box and squared it for substitute Diogo Jota. One touch, then a cool finish into the bottom corner. 3-2 Liverpool. A last-minute smash that felt like a title race earthquake.
Heroes, flops, and the big-name verdicts
- Mohamed Salah – Hero. A goal, an assist, and the nerve to keep demanding the ball when the game was screaming. This is exactly why he’s always in the top scorers today conversations.
- Erling Haaland – Numbers but no win. His finish for City’s first was stone-cold elite, but he’ll be fuming about the non-penalty and the lack of service late on. You can feel he wanted that ‘match-winner’ headline.
- Kevin De Bruyne – Playmaker masterclass. A gorgeous assist for Haaland and deadly from set-pieces, but he faded slightly when Liverpool cranked the tempo and turned it into a track meet.
- Virgil van Dijk – Warrior with a cloud. Won most of his duels, but that late tangle with Haaland is going to be replayed all night. Some say stonewall penalty, others say minimal contact. Classic VAR drama fuel.
- City defence – Under fire. Dias got his goal, but late on they just couldn’t cope with the chaos of Núñez and Jota attacking space. For a side that usually controls everything, this looked shaky.
Title race shockwaves & the live table context
This result is massive. Liverpool’s win drags them right into the heart of the title race, while City suddenly look human. The gap at the top tightens, and every dropped point now feels like a mini-crisis. The football league table just got way spicier, and every neutral is loving it.
What does this mean for the title race? Click here for the live standings
If you’re tracking form, momentum, and who’s on fire in the top scorers today charts, this one swings the psychological edge towards Liverpool. City still have the squad depth, but they now have to chase instead of cruise. And with Champions League news about to dominate midweek, this domestic blow couldn’t have come at a worse time for Guardiola.
Social Media Spotlight: the internet melts down over VAR and late drama
As soon as that Haaland non-penalty happened, social media detonated. Clips, screenshots, freeze-frames – you name it, it’s on the timeline. Then Jota’s late winner dropped, and the memes just kept rolling. If you want the pure, unfiltered fan reaction, you know where to go.
The Internet is Exploding: 3 Social Media Highlights
X Discussion: Fans raging and debating that Haaland VAR penalty shout in #LIVMCI
Reporter’s take: this felt like a statement, not just three points
From my seat, this wasn’t just another big-game thriller; this was a straight-up power message from Liverpool. The way they refused to fold after going 2-1 down, the way Salah kept demanding the ball, the way Núñez turned chaos into advantage – it screamed belief.
City, meanwhile, looked… annoyed. Not broken, never that, but rattled. When your usual surgical control disappears and you’re suddenly in a punch-up, you either adapt or you get knocked. Tonight, City got clipped late and hard. Guardiola’s in-game tweaks didn’t fully land, and that back line looked one sprint away from disaster every time Núñez accelerated into space.
Do I think this decides the title already? Not yet. But in my opinion, this is the night we’ll all point back to if Liverpool do end up lifting the trophy. The atmosphere, the stakes, the names involved – Salah, Haaland, De Bruyne, van Dijk – this was one of those matches that lives in the montage forever.
Final whistle: what’s next?
So, football results today gave us one of the wildest Premier League live clashes you’ll see all season. Salah back on the big stage, Haaland scoring but still furious, VAR dominating the arguments, and a last-gasp Jota finish that flips the mood of an entire fanbase.
Now it’s all eyes on the fixtures ahead, the top scorers today charts, and the football league table that’s shifting by the week. If you’re trying to figure out who’s really in control of this title race, you need to see how tight it’s getting at the top.
Check full stats & standings now
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