Liverpool v Man City live thriller shakes Premier League title race

Liverpool edge Man City in a wild Anfield battle as Salah & Haaland trade blows – but one surprise hero steals the spotlight late on. Title race flipped.

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-02-21, the pitch is on fire... You wanted football results today? You got absolute chaos at Anfield. Liverpool 3–2 Manchester City, a Premier League live classic that just ripped the title race wide open and left every neutral gasping for air. Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne – the stars all showed up, but the night belonged to one unlikely hero in red who buried the winner and blew the roof off the Kop.

Liverpool 3–2 Manchester City – Five-goal madness at Anfield

This one started at 100mph. On 9 minutes, City landed the first punch: a slick move down the right, Bernardo Silva sliding the ball into space and Erling Haaland doing what Erling Haaland does. One touch out of his feet, one cold-blooded finish into the bottom corner. 0–1 City, and the Sky Blue end went wild.

Liverpool didn't blink. On 22 minutes, Anfield exploded as Mohamed Salah levelled it. Trent Alexander-Arnold fizzed a diagonal to Luis Díaz, who skinned his man and cut it back. Salah, on the penalty spot, opened up his body and whipped it into the far corner. 1–1, game properly on.

The first half turned into a stars-only shootout. De Bruyne started dictating, Salah drifted inside looking lethal, and every Haaland run felt like a siren. On 38 minutes, the Belgian wizard produced another moment: Kevin De Bruyne ghosted between the lines, received from Rodri, and smashed a left-foot rocket from 20 yards that clipped the bar and flew in. 1–2 City, a pure highlight-reel goal.

But if City thought that was the knockout punch, they misread the script. Right before half-time, Liverpool found a lifeline. A corner from Dominik Szoboszlai caused mayhem, Virgil van Dijk powered a header goalward, and after a scramble, the ball broke kindly for Diogo Jota, who reacted quickest to stab it home from close range. 2–2 at the break – breathless, ridiculous, and absolutely impossible to predict.

Second-half drama: heroes, flops, and pure chaos

After the restart, the spotlight stayed on the mega-names. Haaland had a huge chance on 54 minutes, played clean through by De Bruyne – but this time Alisson Becker won the duel, spreading himself big and pawing away the Norwegian's low strike. That save felt massive in the moment, and it only grew bigger as the game unfolded.

Salah, meanwhile, smelled blood. He kept driving at Nathan Aké and Rúben Dias, drawing fouls and dragging Liverpool up the pitch. On 63 minutes, he nearly stole the show: a trademark curler from the right edge of the box that had Ederson beaten, only to skim the outside of the post. You could feel the tension building – one more moment of quality was going to decide this.

Enter the unlikely hero. On 79 minutes, Jürgen Klopp rolled the dice and sent on Darwin Núñez. And wow, did it pay off. On 85 minutes, with the game stretched and City looking leggy, Szoboszlai clipped a delicious ball into the channel. Núñez bullied Dias, held him off, cut inside onto his right, and lashed a low drive into the far corner. 3–2 Liverpool. Anfield absolutely erupted; the Uruguayan sprinted to the corner flag, ripped off in celebration, and his teammates piled on.

From there, it got even crazier. On 90+2, City thought they'd equalised when Haaland bundled in from close range after a Rodri knockdown – but VAR stepped in. After a lengthy check, the goal was ruled out for a tight offside in the build-up on Phil Foden. The away end was furious, Pep Guardiola was livid on the touchline, and social media instantly went nuclear over the decision.

Haaland walks away with a goal but also a sense of frustration – he could easily have had a hat-trick. Salah was electric, a constant menace with a goal and a huge workload off the ball. De Bruyne was pure world-class with that screamer and several killer passes. But if you're picking one defining figure tonight, it's Darwin Núñez: super-sub, match-winner, chaos merchant turned cold finisher.

Title race twists: Liverpool climb, City wobble

This result is gigantic in the context of the season. Liverpool's win drags them right into the heart of the title fight, cutting City's cushion and piling pressure on Guardiola's side after a shaky run of form. For City, dropping points in a direct head-to-head hurts way more than a random away draw – especially when it comes courtesy of late drama and a VAR controversy that will dominate the headlines.

Liverpool, meanwhile, look alive again. Salah is firing, the midfield press was relentless, and the Kop feels like a weapon. If they can build on this, the run-in is going to be absolute chaos at the top of the football league table.

What does this mean for the title race? Liverpool close the gap and crank the pressure on everyone above and below them. City, usually so calm, now look just that bit more human. To see exactly how many points separate them and who's lurking just behind in the chase, this is the live picture right now:
Click here for the live standings

Elsewhere in Europe: Champions League contenders on notice

With the spotlight on Anfield, the ripple effect across Europe is huge. Every Champions League news feed is already spinning this as a statement win for Liverpool's mentality, while questions grow louder around City's ability to navigate a brutal schedule. For the neutral, it's pure drama: one bad week now can swing both domestic and European campaigns.

In terms of top scorers today, Haaland adds another to his insane tally, Salah matches him step-for-step, and Núñez grabs the kind of goal that can ignite a late-season scoring run. These are the names you'll be checking in every goal chart and highlights reel tonight.

Social Media Spotlight – the web is melting down

Reporter's take: this felt like a power shift

From my seat, this didn't just look like another classic between two modern giants – it felt like a psychological swing. City looked rattled late on, something you almost never say about a Guardiola team. Haaland scored, but he also missed a massive one-v-one and saw a potential brace snatched away by VAR. That's the kind of night that sticks in your head.

Liverpool, on the other hand, played with that old-school Anfield fury. Salah was ruthless, Van Dijk commanded the box, and Núñez finally delivered the clinical edge fans have been begging for. In my opinion, this is the kind of victory that can launch a run – and the kind of defeat that makes City start second-guessing every defensive lapse and every wasted chance.

If Guardiola doesn't tighten that back line and find a way to manage games better when they're under the cosh, this could be the night everyone looks back on as the moment the title slipped. For Liverpool, if they don't use this as a springboard, it will feel like the biggest wasted spark of the season.

What's next?

From here, all eyes go straight back to the numbers. Who's top? How tight is it? Who needs a miracle run and who just needs to avoid slipping? The football results today have shaken everything up, and the table tells the real story.

Check full stats & standings now

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