Liverpool vs Man City live chaos: Salah & Haaland headline goal-packed thriller

Liverpool edge Man City in a wild one as Salah delivers, Haaland fires and VAR chaos explodes late. Title race flipped on its head – and one star stole the show.

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-02-25, the pitch is on fire... You wanted Football results today and you picked the right moment – Anfield just served up pure madness as Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-2 in a Premier League classic that has blown the title race wide open. Goals, drama, VAR, touchline rage – this one had everything.

Liverpool 3–2 Manchester City – Salah vs Haaland, pure box office

From the first whistle it felt like a Champions League night disguised as a league game. Both managers went full-strength, both sets of fans were shaking the stands, and the stars absolutely delivered.

Manchester City struck first on 18 minutes: Erling Haaland did what Erling Haaland does. Kevin De Bruyne slipped a filthy pass between the lines, Haaland spun off his marker and buried a left-foot finish low into the corner. 1–0 City, silenced groans around Anfield, and the away end went wild.

Liverpool’s response was fierce. On 32 minutes, they levelled when Mohamed Salah ghosted into the box, took a clever cut-back from Dominik Szoboszlai, and smashed a first-time finish past Ederson. That was Salah announcing himself: not just on the score sheet, but as the main man in these Football results today.

Right before half-time, Liverpool flipped the game. A deep corner found Virgil van Dijk, who bullied his marker and powered a header in off the bar on 44 minutes. Absolute captain’s goal. 2–1 Liverpool, Anfield bouncing, Guardiola fuming on the touchline.

Haaland answers… then late chaos decides it

City came out after the break like a team possessed. On 56 minutes, Haaland equalised again. This time it was a classic City move: Rodri to Bernardo Silva, clipped cross to the back post, Haaland peeled away and nodded in from close range. Two shots, two goals for the Norwegian machine – clinical, cold-blooded, and exactly what you expect from one of the biggest names in world football.

But while Haaland hit his numbers, this night belonged to Salah. On 82 minutes came the moment that will live on every highlight reel. Liverpool broke from a City corner, Darwin Núñez charged up the left and slid the ball into Salah’s path. One touch to steady himself, one drop of the shoulder to send Rúben Dias sliding out of the frame, and a curling left-foot strike bent into the far top corner. 3–2 Liverpool. Anfield. Eruption.

City thought they had their own twist in stoppage time. In the 93rd minute, substitute Julián Álvarez bundled the ball in after a scramble, and the away end exploded – but the flag went up. VAR checked for what felt like forever: was Haaland offside in the build-up? Did he interfere with play? In the end, the goal was ruled out for offside on Haaland’s initial run, and social media absolutely melted down.

Heroes and flops under the floodlights

• Mohamed Salah – Two huge goals, including that outrageous late winner. His all-round game was elite: dropping deep, driving at defenders, linking with Núñez. Straight-up man of the match.
• Erling Haaland – Two goals away at Anfield? You can’t call him a flop. But he barely touched the ball outside the box in the final 20 minutes as Liverpool’s press tightened. Brutal finishing, limited influence in build-up.
• Kevin De Bruyne – Pulled strings early, grabbed the assist for Haaland’s opener, but faded as Liverpool’s intensity grew. Still, every time he got half a yard, you felt danger.
• Virgil van Dijk – Rock at the back and massive with his goal. Won most aerials against Haaland, and his leadership in the final ten minutes was huge.

The key scenes will be replayed endlessly: Van Dijk screaming at the Kop after his header, Guardiola sprinting down the touchline in fury after the VAR call, Salah’s sliding celebration in front of the cameras, Haaland shaking his head in disbelief at full time.

What this does to the Premier League title race

This result is gigantic. Liverpool’s win puts them right back in the face of City in the title race, cutting the gap and flipping momentum. City, who looked ready to cruise with an early lead, now suddenly feel human again, especially away from home in these massive fixtures.

With Arsenal and other challengers lurking, this 3–2 at Anfield feels like a proper six-pointer. The pressure shifts onto City’s next game while Liverpool suddenly smell blood – and you can feel it in every reaction from the stands to the managers’ post-match interviews.

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

Other key Football results today

Elsewhere in Europe, the big guns were also out.

Real Madrid 2–0 Sevilla – Bellingham on the scoresheet again

At the Bernabéu, Jude Bellingham once again turned a tight game into a comfortable win for Real Madrid. After a cagey first half, it was Bellingham who broke the deadlock on 61 minutes, arriving late in the box to slot home a low cross from Vinícius Júnior. Classic Bellingham: timing, composure, elite end product.

The second goal came on 78 minutes from Rodrygo, who cut inside from the right and whipped a shot into the far corner. Bellingham was involved again in the build-up, dropping deep to link play and dragging Sevilla’s midfield out of shape. Another game, another statement that he’s comfortably in the world-class bracket.

Kylian Mbappé, meanwhile, kept the goals coming in France for PSG in an earlier kickoff, bagging a brace – including a trademark breakaway finish – to keep his name glowing in every top scorers today conversation.

Social Media Spotlight

The online reaction to Liverpool vs Man City has gone nuclear. One moment is dominating everything: that stoppage-time VAR decision chalking off Álvarez’s goal because of Haaland’s offside involvement. Fans are split down the middle – some screaming that it’s technically correct, others convinced it’s killing the emotion of the game.

Reporter’s hot take

Honestly, this felt like a passing of the emotional baton in the title race. City still look like a machine, but tonight they looked rattled, especially when Liverpool cranked up the chaos. In my opinion, Guardiola waited too long to refresh his midfield, and it showed in the last 15 minutes when Liverpool were just running through lines.

For Liverpool, this was a statement that the Salah era is not over. With all the noise about new stars and next generations, he just went head-to-head with Haaland and walked off with the defining moment of the night. That winner was pure big-game DNA.

And about VAR? Technically, the late decision looks correct. But emotionally, it’s brutal. You could feel the life sucked out of the City end when the ref finally pointed for offside. This is going to fuel talk shows, podcasts and fan debates for days.

What’s next?

The best thing about nights like this? They reshape everything – the mood, the pressure, the storylines. City now have zero room for slip-ups, Liverpool have a massive surge of belief, and the rest of the league is suddenly thinking, “Why not us?”

If you’re tracking the Premier League live picture or eyeing who’s really in the mix after these Football results today, you need the table in front of you.

Check full stats & standings now

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