Haaland hat-trick chaos as Man City stun Liverpool live at Anfield

Total madness at Anfield: Haaland hits a ruthless hat-trick, Salah answers with magic, and the title race explodes live on a wild Premier League night.

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-03-05, the pitch is on fire... If you love insane soccer games, tonight was pure adrenaline. Anfield just went through emotional meltdown as Liverpool and Manchester City ripped into each other in a 3-3 thriller that felt like a Champions League final dropped into a Premier League live episode. Erling Haaland firing a hat-trick, Mohamed Salah curling in a worldie, VAR drama, woodwork rattling – this was everything.

City came flying out of the gates. On 9 minutes, Kevin De Bruyne slipped a disgusting reverse pass between Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté, and Erling Haaland did the rest – one touch to set, second touch smashed low past Alisson for 0-1. Clinical, icy, typical Haaland.

Liverpool, though, don’t do quiet nights at Anfield. On 24 minutes, they hit back. Trent Alexander-Arnold pinged a diagonal to Luis Díaz, who skinned Kyle Walker and cut back to the edge of the box. Mohamed Salah took one touch, opened his body and whipped a left-foot curler into the top corner. Ederson got a glove, but no chance – 1-1 and Anfield exploded.

City answered like champions. Just before half-time, in the 43rd minute, Phil Foden danced inside from the left, drew three red shirts and fed Bernardo Silva. His first-time cross was inch-perfect, and Haaland bullied Konaté in the air, powering a header in for 1-2. Two chances, two goals – Haaland in full destroyer mode.

The second half turned absolutely wild. Liverpool thought they had levelled in the 55th minute when Darwin Núñez smashed home from close range after chaos in the box, but VAR stepped in. The replays showed Núñez marginally offside when Alexis Mac Allister flicked the ball on. Goal chalked off. The stadium went from eruption to fury in seconds.

That VAR call lit a fire. On 63 minutes, Liverpool made it 2-2 anyway. Dominik Szoboszlai fired a rocket from 25 metres, Ederson parried, and Núñez, staying onside this time, pounced on the rebound to slam it into the roof of the net. Pure striker’s instinct, pure redemption.

But City always have another gear. In the 72nd minute, Foden slipped in De Bruyne, who tapped a first-time pass into Haaland’s path. The Norwegian took it in stride and rolled Konaté, shifting the ball to his left before slotting into the far corner for 2-3. Hat-trick complete, title statement delivered. The away end went absolutely berserk.

Was it over? Not at Anfield. Jürgen Klopp threw on Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott, pushed Trent higher, and they pinned City back. In the 88th minute, the pressure finally cracked them. Salah drove into the box and was clipped by Ruben Dias – soft but there. After a tense VAR check, the penalty stood. Salah stepped up and smashed it straight down the middle for 3-3. Hat-trick denied, but Haaland’s monster night was now matched by Salah’s icy nerves.

In stoppage time, we nearly had a winner. Foden rattled the post with a curling effort in the 94th minute, and seconds later Gakpo blazed over from six yards at the other end. When the whistle went, players dropped to the turf. Six goals, two superstars on fire, and a title race that just went nuclear.

In terms of star power, Haaland was the headline act. Three goals, brutal movement, constantly pinning Liverpool’s back line – this was peak cyborg mode. De Bruyne looked close to his best again, with two assists and some outrageous passing. For Liverpool, Salah was a one-man chaos engine: a stunning goal, a high-pressure penalty, and constant menace drifting inside. Van Dijk had some heroic interventions but got dragged into a shootout he couldn’t completely control, while Trent’s delivery going forward was elite even if he left space behind him for Foden to exploit.

So what does this do to the football league table and the title fight? The draw keeps City just ahead of Liverpool, but Arsenal and a revived Chelsea are lurking. Every point now feels like it weighs double, and with both teams still juggling Champions League news and fixture congestion, this 3-3 almost feels like two points dropped for City despite the away ground.

What does this mean for the title race? With City still narrowly on top but Liverpool refusing to go away, the Premier League run-in is about to get absolutely insane. Squint at the numbers, check the games in hand, and you can feel the pressure building already. Click here for the live standings

Elsewhere in Europe, Jude Bellingham kept writing his own scripts in La Liga, grabbing a late winner for Real Madrid at the Bernabéu. After Atlético had levelled through Álvaro Morata, Bellingham ghosted into the box in the 89th minute to tap in a low cross from Vinícius Júnior. Another clutch goal, another roar from the Bernabéu. If you’re tracking top scorers today across the big soccer games, his numbers just keep climbing.

Kylian Mbappé, meanwhile, had a quieter night in Ligue 1. He scored from the spot for PSG but missed a one-on-one and looked visibly frustrated after being subbed early with Champions League clashes looming. Hero? Partly. But compared to Haaland and Salah’s madness, Mbappé’s evening felt almost routine.

From my seat, this felt like one of those Premier League live nights we’ll talk about for years. Haaland was a freak of nature, but City still couldn’t close the door. Salah dragged Liverpool back from the edge with pure star power. If Pep Guardiola is honest, he’ll be furious they let a 3-2 lead slip, while Klopp will probably call it a “mental” game and cling to the spirit his side showed.

Defensively, both sides were shaky. Konaté struggled badly with Haaland’s movement, and even Van Dijk lost him twice in the box. On the other side, Ruben Dias and John Stones never quite got to grips with Núñez’s chaos and Salah’s drifting runs. If these two collide again in a Champions League knockout, grab popcorn – the script basically writes itself.

The bigger picture? With so many soccer games packed into the calendar and the Champions League knockout rounds kicking off, tonight felt like a trailer for the madness to come. Rotation will get risky, legs will get heavy, and every dropped point will spark a fresh meltdown on social media.

So breathe for a second, then dive back into the numbers. The table is razor-tight, goal difference could decide everything, and one more hat-trick from Haaland or another Salah masterclass might swing the whole season.

Check full stats & standings now

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