Liverpool stun City in late thriller – Anfield erupts, title race live

Liverpool edge Man City in a wild late finish as Salah delivers again – but a huge VAR twist has everyone arguing. Did City deserve more?

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-02-02, the pitch is on fire... You wanted football results today? You got absolute chaos. At Anfield it was red vs sky blue, Jurgen Klopp vs Pep Guardiola, Mohamed Salah vs Erling Haaland – and Liverpool squeezed past Manchester City in a 3-2 classic that has blown the Premier League live title race wide open.

The MAIN_KEYWORD "Football results today" barely even covers it. This was a statement win. And yeah, did you see that last 10 minutes??

Liverpool 3-2 Manchester City – Anfield turns into a madhouse

From the first whistle, the tempo was insane. Liverpool struck first: on 18 minutes, Trent Alexander-Arnold fizzed a cross to the back post, Darwin Núñez headed it down, and Mohamed Salah smashed home from close range. 1-0, Kop bouncing, Salah already looking like he wanted this more than anyone.

City hit back like champs. In the 32nd minute, Kevin De Bruyne slipped a trademark through ball between the lines, and Erling Haaland bullied his way past Virgil van Dijk before burying a low finish into the far corner. That’s Haaland doing Haaland things – one sniff, one goal. 1-1, and suddenly it felt like City had all the control.

Right before the break, City flipped the game. A short-corner routine caught Liverpool sleeping, De Bruyne again the architect, pulling it back for Phil Foden on the edge. One touch, then a curled left-footer into the top corner. 2-1 City, and you could almost hear the away end chanting about going top of the league.

Salah the hero, Haaland the nearly-man

The second half was all about whether Liverpool’s stars would step up – and oh boy, did they. Salah absolutely torched Josko Gvardiol down the right. On 61 minutes he dropped a shoulder, cut inside two defenders and slid a killer pass into Dominik Szoboszlai, who lashed a first-time finish past Ederson for 2-2. The whole stadium shook.

Haaland, meanwhile, went a bit ice-cold after his early strike. He still occupied defenders, but he fluffed a massive chance on 70 minutes – clean through from another De Bruyne ball, he tried to dink Alisson and sent it just over the bar. For a guy chasing Golden Boot, that was huge. On a day of Football/Soccer’s biggest names, Salah looked like the clutch king, Haaland just a step off.

Then came the madness. 88th minute, Liverpool pushing, City sitting deep. A corner is half-cleared, the ball drops to Alexis Mac Allister 25 yards out. He drills it goalward, it clips off Núñez, and flies past Ederson. Anfield explodes… but hold up – VAR check.

VAR meltdown – was Núñez offside?

We got the full slow-motion drama. The officials checked whether Núñez was offside and interfering with play. Lines on the pitch, crowd whistling, Pep losing his mind on the touchline. After what felt like hours, the decision stood: Goal for Liverpool, 3-2. The ball had deflected off Rúben Dias first, and the VAR judged Núñez onside on the initial shot. City bench furious, Guardiola sarcastically clapping, fans on social absolutely tearing it apart.

Salah’s numbers? One goal, one assist, and constant danger. Pure big-game mentality. Haaland? One lethal finish but a brutal miss and barely any touches late on. If you’re picking today’s superstar, it’s Salah all day.

What this does to the title race

This single result flips the whole vibe of the Premier League live conversation. Liverpool leapfrog City in the football league table, piling huge pressure on the champions. City, who looked ready to pull away again, suddenly have to chase. The top scorers today – Salah, Haaland, Foden, Szoboszlai, Núñez – all made their mark, but the points belong to the Reds.

In terms of the wider soccer news cycle, this is the kind of win that echoes into Europe too. Champions League news, form, confidence – you name it, Liverpool just got a massive injection, while City stare at themselves asking how they let it slip.

What does this mean for the title race? After today’s swing, Liverpool jump into the strongest position they’ve had all season, while City are suddenly vulnerable to pressure from behind. One more slip and the whole top four picture shifts again. Click here for the live standings

Elsewhere in the big leagues – key Football results today

Across Europe, the drama didn’t stop in England. In La Liga, Real Madrid kept their grip on top spot with a 2-0 home win, built on the usual star power. Jude Bellingham got on the scoresheet again with a late run into the box and a cool finish, while Vinícius Júnior bagged the opener after skinning his full-back and tucking it inside the near post. Bellingham was everywhere – breaking lines, demanding the ball, driving Madrid’s tempo like a veteran. Zero chance he’s a flop today; this was another world-class performance.

In Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain cruised to a 3-1 win with Kylian Mbappé once again the difference-maker. He scored twice – a thunderous right-foot strike from the edge of the area and a trademark run in behind finished with a casual side-foot past the keeper. Even when he’s half-marked by two defenders, Mbappé still feels inevitable. If we’re talking top scorers today across the continent, his name is locked in the conversation.

Social Media Spotlight – Anfield’s VAR storm goes nuclear

The internet reaction? Absolute carnage. The hot topic is that late VAR call on Núñez’s deflection. City fans are convinced it’s a robbery, Liverpool fans are posting screenshots of the offside line like it’s a new meme template. Every neutral is just there for the chaos.

Scroll those feeds and you’ll see it: slowed-down clips of the deflection, freeze-frames of the offside line, reaction videos from the Kop, and City fans saying the league is scripted. Classic big-game social meltdown.

Reporter’s Take – raw, no filter

In my opinion, this is the kind of night that defines a season. Liverpool played like a team that refuses to let the title go anywhere else. Salah looked like a captain even without the armband, dragging his side through waves of City pressure. Mac Allister and Szoboszlai owned the midfield in that last half hour – brave on the ball, aggressive in the press.

For City, Pep has questions to answer. Why so passive once it went 2-2? Why no earlier changes when Haaland was getting isolated and Foden faded after his wonderstrike? The squad is stacked, but they let the game drift and paid for it. If they keep dropping points in these head-to-heads, you can forget another cruise to the title.

From a Football/Soccer perspective, this was everything: elite quality, superstar clashes, tactical chess, and total chaos in the final minutes. If you love Champions League-level intensity, this felt exactly like that – just in domestic colours.

Closing whistle – title race on a knife edge

So, football results today delivered pure drama: Liverpool 3-2 Manchester City, Real Madrid and PSG’s big guns firing, and all the major stars stepping into the spotlight. Salah and Mbappé were heroic, Bellingham was slick and decisive, Haaland dangerous but human. The football league table just got a serious shake, and every next round now feels like a mini-final.

If you want to see exactly where this leaves your club – points, goal difference, the full top-four picture – hit the live standings and get lost in the numbers.

Check full stats & standings now

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@ ad-hoc-news.de