Haaland hat-trick chaos as Man City edge Liverpool in Premier League live thriller

Man City 4-3 Liverpool in a wild Premier League live showdown – Haaland hits a hat-trick, Salah answers back, and the title race explodes on a crazy night.

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-02-04, the pitch is on fire... Did you see that Man City vs Liverpool madness?? If you love soccer games with zero chill, tonight in the Premier League was pure chaos. Goals everywhere, superstars going off, title race flipped on its head – this was why you cancel plans and glue yourself to the screen.

Man City 4-3 Liverpool – Haaland vs Salah in a seven-goal classic

The Etihad turned into a goal factory. Manchester City edged Liverpool 4-3 in a thriller that felt more like a Champions League knockout than a routine league game.

The story of the night? Erling Haaland vs Mohamed Salah, two absolute machines going blow for blow.

First-half: Haaland smells blood early

City came out like a storm. On ninth minutes, Kevin De Bruyne slipped a filthy reverse pass through the lines, Haaland bullied his marker, and smashed it low into the corner: Erling Haaland 1-0. Clinical, violent, inevitable.

Liverpool answered fast. In the 21st minute, Trent Alexander-Arnold fizzed a diagonal to Luis Díaz, who cut inside and forced a save; the rebound dropped to Mohamed Salah, and you already knew the ending. Salah smashed it first time into the roof: Salah 1-1. Game on.

City pushed again. On 34 minutes, a short-corner routine saw De Bruyne swing in a wicked ball, and Rúben Dias rose highest to power home a header for 2-1 City. Liverpool screamed for a foul on Virgil van Dijk, VAR took a long look, but the goal stood – cue outrage from the away end.

Second-half madness: Hat-trick heroics and late drama

The second half started at the same insane tempo. On 52 minutes, Phil Foden roasted his full-back down the left, squared it across the six-yard box, and there was Haaland again, sliding in for his second goal of the night: City 3-1 and cruising… or so we thought.

Liverpool refused to die. In the 63rd minute, a slick move saw Dominik Szoboszlai slip Salah into the box. Salah cut onto his left and rolled a perfect low cross for Diogo Jota to tap in at the far post: 3-2. Game back on, tension through the roof.

Then the moment everyone will argue about. On 74 minutes, City thought they’d killed it off when Haaland bullied his way into the box, went shoulder-to-shoulder with van Dijk and went down. Penalty given. Liverpool players lost it, van Dijk fuming, Klopp laughing in disbelief on the touchline.

VAR checked it for what felt like an eternity. Contact? Yes. Soft? Absolutely. In the end, the decision stood. Haaland stepped up, sent the keeper the wrong way and completed his hat-trick for 4-2 City. Hats in the air, boos from the away end, the whole stadium buzzing.

Still, Liverpool had one more punch left. In the 89th minute, a corner wasn’t cleared, the ball dropped to Virgil van Dijk on the edge of the box of all people, and he lashed a volley through a crowded area to make it 4-3. Absolute mayhem. Alisson came up for a final corner in stoppage time, but City survived by inches as Ederson clawed a looping header away at the death.

Heroes, flops & superstar check-in

• Erling Haaland – Stone-cold killer. Hat-trick hero, bullied the backline all night. Decision-making, movement, mentality: world-class. Man of the Match by a mile.
• Kevin De Bruyne – Two assists, pulled strings everywhere. When he drifts into pockets, this City team turns unstoppable.
• Mohamed Salah – Goal and an assist, constantly dangerous, dragged Liverpool back into it twice. Not his fault they left empty-handed.
• Virgil van Dijk – Thunderous late goal but looked oddly uncomfortable against Haaland’s physicality. That penalty call will be replayed for days.
• Trent Alexander-Arnold – Quality on the ball, but City constantly targeted the space behind him. Genius going forward, exposed going backwards.

Title race twist – how the table looks now

Those 3 points are massive. With this win, Manchester City jump back to the top of the Premier League pile, nudging ahead in a ridiculously tight race. Liverpool’s loss doesn’t kill their hopes, but it adds huge pressure on their next fixtures. Goal difference, head-to-head, every little margin matters now.

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

Elsewhere in Europe – Bellingham and Mbappé keep Champions League vibes warm

Across the continent, the other megastars weren’t exactly quiet either. In La Liga, Jude Bellingham kept his unreal form going for Real Madrid with a late winner, arriving late in the box to slot home after a cutback from Vinícius Júnior. He didn’t dominate for 90 minutes, but when the moment came, he delivered. Again.

In Ligue 1, Kylian Mbappé did Mbappé things – one goal, one assist for PSG, including a devastating sprint in behind to finish calmly one-on-one. Defenders know exactly what he’s going to do and still can’t stop it. That’s superstar territory.

My take: City are terrifying when it matters

Here’s the thing: nights like this are why City feel inevitable. When the pressure spikes and the margins get tiny, they find that extra gear. Haaland sniffing out space, De Bruyne feeding him like it’s a cheat code – that’s just unfair in soccer games at this level.

From Liverpool’s side, you can’t fault the fight. Salah was massive, Jota was sharp, van Dijk still produced a captain’s moment late on. But if you’re conceding four, especially with that much chaos at the back, you’re asking for trouble in a title race.

In my opinion, Liverpool need a defensive reset fast – structure, compactness, maybe even a tactical tweak in big away games. City, meanwhile, just sent a brutal message to everyone chasing them: if you want this league, you’re going to have to go through peak Haaland with De Bruyne fully locked in. Good luck.

Final whistle: buckle up, this race isn’t done

From Haaland’s hat-trick to Salah’s stubborn brilliance and that controversial VAR penalty, tonight had everything: drama, rage, joy, and goals for days. The title race just got nastier, and every single point from here is going to feel like a cup final.

Check full stats & standings now

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