Liverpool vs Man City live thriller: Salah stunner, Haaland heartbreak

Liverpool edge Man City in a wild Premier League showdown as Salah delivers late drama and Haaland misfires. Did that VAR call change everything?

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-02-05, the pitch is on fire... You wanted chaos, you got chaos. Anfield just served up one of those soccer games you’ll be talking about all week: Liverpool 3–2 Manchester City, a Premier League live blockbuster packed with goals, controversy, and superstar swings in form.

Did you see that?? Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland went toe-to-toe, the title race tilted, and social media is absolutely melting down over a late VAR offside call.

Liverpool 3–2 Man City – Salah the sniper, Haaland left raging

This one had everything. Liverpool flew out of the blocks, City clawed back, and then the game exploded in the final stretch.

Goal timeline:

• 12' – 1–0 Liverpool: Darwin Núñez attacks the near post and buries a low cross from Luis Díaz. Pure striker’s instinct.
• 34' – 1–1 Man City: Kevin De Bruyne curls a trademark left-to-right rocket from the edge of the box after a slick one-two with Phil Foden.
• 52' – 1–2 Man City: Erling Haaland shrugs off Virgil van Dijk and smashes one in off the bar. Classic Haaland power finish.
• 69' – 2–2 Liverpool: Mohamed Salah bends a beauty into the far top corner after cutting inside on his left. Anfield erupts.
• 88' – 3–2 Liverpool: Mohamed Salah again, this time ghosting between the centre-backs to tap in a low cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The game’s defining image? Haaland with his hands on his head in stoppage time. He thought he’d equalised with a close-range finish in the 93rd minute, only for VAR to step in and rule Phil Foden marginally offside in the build-up. Millimetres, lines all over the screen, and boos raining down from the away end.

Star players: heroes and flops

Mohamed Salah – pure clutch
Two goals when Liverpool needed him most. His first equaliser at 2–1 down changed the whole vibe of the match; City suddenly looked nervous, Anfield turned into a wall of noise. Salah’s movement for the winner was elite – drifting off the shoulder, timing the run perfectly. On a day packed with star names, he was the difference-maker.

Erling Haaland – goal but no glory
Yes, he scored to make it 2–1, bullying his way onto the scoresheet like he always does. But he also missed a huge one-on-one early in the second half and saw his stoppage-time ‘equaliser’ wiped out by VAR. For a guy judged on killer moments, this will feel like a night where the numbers don’t tell the full story – and City fans are already arguing about whether he should have buried that early chance.

Kevin De Bruyne – conductor in chief
De Bruyne’s first-half performance was vintage: dropping into pockets, slicing Liverpool open, and scoring that gorgeous curler. But as Liverpool raised the intensity after the break, even he started losing duels in midfield. Still, he was clearly City’s main creative outlet and almost forced an own goal with a vicious cross late on.

Virgil van Dijk – exposed then redeemed
Haaland bullied him for the 2–1 goal, which will be replayed all week. But Van Dijk recovered in the final 20 minutes, winning key headers and clearing a dangerous Foden cut-back in stoppage time. Not perfect, but absolutely crucial when Liverpool were hanging on.

What this does to the football league table

This result is massive. Liverpool leapfrog City in the Premier League standings and put real pressure on the rest of the pack. With the Champions League news cycle already buzzing about who looks like a real contender, this was the kind of statement win that screams: “We’re in this title race for real.”

City, meanwhile, slide down a notch and suddenly every dropped point feels huge. Their recent wobble just got a lot more serious – and with a brutal run of fixtures coming, Pep Guardiola has zero margin for error.

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

Elsewhere today: top scorers today light it up

Across Europe’s big soccer games, the net kept shaking.

Arsenal 2–0 Newcastle United

• 23' – 1–0 Arsenal: Bukayo Saka drills one low into the corner after a cutback from Martin Ødegaard.
• 61' – 2–0 Arsenal: Gabriel Jesus pounces on a loose ball in the box after a corner isn’t cleared.

Saka was electric down the right, constantly isolating his full-back and winning fouls. Ødegaard dictated tempo, while Jesus worked tirelessly off the ball. Arsenal’s clean sheet also keeps them tight in the title picture.

Real Madrid 3–1 Sevilla (La Liga)

• 15' – 1–0 Real Madrid: Jude Bellingham makes one of those late runs he’s now famous for and heads home a Vinícius Júnior cross.
• 49' – 2–0 Real Madrid: Vinícius Júnior curls one inside the far post after dancing past two defenders.
• 67' – 2–1 Sevilla: Youssef En-Nesyri nods in from a corner.
• 81' – 3–1 Real Madrid: Rodrygo finishes a slick counter-attack, assisted by Bellingham.

Bellingham was everywhere again – goal, assist, and constant control in midfield. In the Champions League news cycle, Real Madrid just keep sending a simple message: this guy is built for the biggest stages.

Social Media Spotlight

The internet absolutely detonated after that late VAR drama at Anfield. The official hashtag #LIVMCI is full of freeze-frames, offside lines, and fans arguing over whether justice was served or City were robbed.

Reporter's take: this felt like a season-defining punch

In my opinion, this wasn’t just another big Premier League game – this was a psychological uppercut from Liverpool to Manchester City. Salah stepped up exactly when it mattered, while Haaland and City blinked in the crucial moments.

Pep will rage about the VAR call in private, but deep down he knows the bigger problem: his side let the game get away from them once Liverpool turned it into a physical, emotional battle. You can’t sit back at Anfield and expect to survive when the crowd smells blood.

Liverpool, on the other hand, look like a team that believes again. The press was sharp, the full-backs were brave, and their stars – especially Salah – delivered pure world-class quality in the clutch. If they keep this energy, the title race is going to be absolutely wild.

Closing whistle

So, where does all this leave us? The top of the table is tighter, the top scorers today have shaken up the Golden Boot race, and the Champions League contenders just sent some serious messages. The only guarantee right now: this season is going down to the wire.

Check full stats & standings now

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