Haaland brace, Salah strikes: Premier League drama explodes live tonight

From Haaland’s ruthless double to Salah’s icy finish, today’s football results lit up the title race – but one VAR twist has everyone losing it.

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-02-24, the pitch is on fire... Did you see that?? If you were hunting for football results today, this was the kind of night that wrecks predictions, wrecks nerves, and maybe even reshapes the whole Premier League live title race.

The headline act: at the Etihad, Manchester City and Liverpool went toe-to-toe in a clash that felt more like a Champions League final than a regular league game. Goals, chaos, and one huge VAR storm — everything you want packed into 90 frantic minutes.

City vs Liverpool – Haaland vs Salah, and a VAR bombshell

From the opening whistle, it was pure throttle. City pressed high, Liverpool punched back in transition, and the first real crack in the game came when Kevin De Bruyne slid a filthy through ball into Erling Haaland on 18 minutes. One touch, second to set, then that classic side-foot rocket into the bottom corner. Erling Haaland 1-0. Clinical, cold, inevitable.

Liverpool looked rattled, but you can never count out Mohamed Salah. On 34 minutes, Trent Alexander-Arnold clipped a diagonal into Darwin Núñez, who bullied his marker, cushioned a header into space, and Salah did the rest — cut inside, defender on skates, low curler inside the far post. Mohamed Salah 1-1. You’ve seen that finish a hundred times, you still can’t stop it.

City came back swinging after the break. De Bruyne again at the heart of it, combining with Phil Foden before feeding Haaland just inside the box. One touch, bang. Top corner. Haaland again, 2-1 City, and the Etihad absolutely exploded. In that moment, Haaland looked like the top scorer today and every day — a total menace. His movement dragged Liverpool’s back line all over the place; he could easily have walked away with a hat-trick if not for Alisson’s reflex saves.

But the twist? Oh, the twist was straight out of theatre.

On 82 minutes, Luis Díaz burst into the box, tangled with Kyle Walker, went down, and the referee initially waved it away. Play raged on, City nearly scored a third on the break, and then everything stopped. VAR check. Stadium on pause. After what felt like forever, the ref jogged to the monitor, checked the angles, and finally pointed to the spot. Penalty Liverpool. City fans furious, Liverpool fans in full limbs. Massive hot topic on social media right now.

Mo Salah grabbed the ball, blocked out the noise, and buried it into the corner for his second of the night. Salah, 2-2. Ice in his veins. Haaland and Salah, two superstars, both walking off with braces, both refusing to blink in a title-defining showdown.

Heroes, nearly-men, and the flops

• Erling Haaland – Two goals, relentless pressing, monster in the box. Absolute hero performance, and honestly unlucky not to be the match-winner.
• Mohamed Salah – Also on a brace, also decisive. His first goal was vintage Salah, his second from the spot was all nerve and composure.
• Kevin De Bruyne – Two assists, controlled the tempo, constantly slicing lines. Pure world-class. Every time City looked dangerous, KDB was the architect.
• Phil Foden – Bright and electric between the lines, but lacked the final punch tonight. More ‘nearly man’ than killer.
• City’s back line – This is where the flops tag sits. They never looked comfortable against Liverpool’s pace, especially once Díaz and Núñez started running at them.

The VAR penalty call is the flashpoint everyone’s losing their minds over — some angles look soft, others show enough contact. The internet’s basically split down the middle, and the hashtag is flying.

Elsewhere: title-chasers stumble and a late winner rocks the bottom

While the Etihad stole the spotlight, the rest of England didn’t exactly sit quietly.

At the Emirates, Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea turned into a story of missed chances. Arsenal dominated early and finally broke through when Bukayo Saka cut inside and whipped in a cross that Gabriel Jesus glanced into the far corner. Jesus, 1-0 Arsenal. It felt like the Gunners were ready to cruise, but they kept wasting opportunities — Martin Ødegaard dragged one wide, Leandro Trossard smacked the bar, and you could feel the nerves creeping in.

Chelsea made them pay. Deep into the second half, a quick break saw Cole Palmer slip a clever ball into Nicolas Jackson, who finished low across the keeper. Jackson, 1-1. Palmer’s creativity was the spark, again. Arsenal’s big guns? Saka was lively but wasteful in front of goal; Ødegaard pulled the strings but didn’t deliver the killer blow. For a team chasing the title, it felt two points dropped, not one gained.

Down at the bottom, things got even more chaotic. In a massive relegation scrap, Everton 2-1 Nottingham Forest might go down as season-defining. Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed Everton in front from a set piece, Forest hit back through Chris Wood, and just when everyone was settling for a draw, substitute Abdoulaye Doucouré smashed in a 90th-minute winner after a scramble in the area. Goodison Park absolutely erupted. That goal could be the difference between survival and the drop.

What it all means for the table

City and Liverpool’s draw keeps the title race razor tight, while Arsenal’s slip adds even more pressure. Liverpool walk away feeling like they snatched a huge point; City look like they let two slip away. And at the bottom, Everton’s late winner drags another team into the mess.

What does this mean for the title race? The gap at the top is wafer-thin now, and every point feels like gold dust. For the full context, live updates, and every twist in the football league table, this is where you need to be: Click here for the live standings

Social Media Spotlight: VAR rage and celebration scenes

The online reaction is absolutely wild right now. The official hashtag #MCILIV is trending hard, and the main storyline is that VAR penalty. Soft? Stonewall? Robbery? Justice? Everyone’s got an opinion and nobody’s holding back.

If you jump on Liverpool’s Instagram right now, it’s pure chaos: Salah smiling in the dressing room, Haaland looking gutted in the background screenshots flooding the comments, and fans spamming "Ballon d'Or" jokes. On YouTube, the highlight reels from Sky Sports Football and other providers are already racking up views — that Haaland rocket and Salah’s penalty are getting replayed on loop.

My take: this felt like a title decider in everything but name

From a young reporter’s seat, here’s the blunt truth: City bottled control, Liverpool refused to die. If you’re Pep Guardiola, you’re raging. Two goals from Haaland, two assists from De Bruyne — that should be enough to put a game to bed at home. Instead, defensive lapses and a late panic moment in the box opened the door for Liverpool.

On the flip side, Jürgen Klopp (or his successor if the dugout has changed) will be buzzing. Away to City, twice behind, and still walk away with a point? That’s the kind of mentality that wins titles. Salah showed once again why he’s still in that elite bracket with Haaland and Mbappé. When it mattered, he delivered. Twice.

As for the VAR drama: my opinion? Contact was there, defender was clumsy, and in 2026 with a thousand cameras on you, you simply cannot dive in like that. Soft or not, you’re rolling the dice. City can rant, but they handed the referee a decision to make. And against someone as smart as Luis Díaz, you usually lose that bet.

Further down the table, I honestly think Everton’s late winner might be one of those moments we look back on in May and say, "Yep, that's where survival turned." Doucouré's strike had that season-changing energy about it — the kind of goal that injects belief into a dressing room that's been living on the edge.

Final whistle: title race wide open, nerves shredded

So, if you were scanning for football results today wondering who took control of the Premier League live, the answer is: nobody. City and Liverpool traded punches, but neither could land the knockout blow. Arsenal let theirs slip. The relegation race got nastier. And the league table right now looks like a pressure cooker ready to blow.

Check full stats & standings now

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