Liverpool vs Man City live chaos: Salah & Haaland light up title race

Liverpool edge Man City in a wild Anfield classic as Salah steps up, Haaland fires back, and VAR drama explodes. Is the title race tipping red tonight?

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-02-02, the pitch is on fire... If you love soccer games with pure chaos and world-class talent, Liverpool vs Manchester City at Anfield just delivered a full-on adrenaline overdose. Goals, controversy, missed sitters, and a title race swinging in real time – this one had everything. Did you see that second-half spell where it felt like the ball refused to leave the City box?

Liverpool came out like a team possessed. From the first whistle, they pressed high, forced mistakes, and turned this into a street fight rather than a chess match. Manchester City tried to stay calm, recycle possession, and let Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne decide it with moments of magic. Instead, the night belonged to Mohamed Salah and Liverpool’s relentless edge.

Match Analysis: Anfield turns into a title-race cauldron

The breakthrough came early. On 18 minutes, Liverpool pounced. Dominik Szoboszlai snapped into a challenge, the ball broke kindly to Alexis Mac Allister, who slipped a wicked through ball between City’s centre-backs. Salah timed his run perfectly, opened up his body, and curled a left-foot finish past Ederson into the far corner. Goal scorer: Mohamed Salah (18'). Anfield exploded – and so did the title race.

City, though, never stay quiet for long. On 33 minutes, you could feel the script flipping. De Bruyne drifted into the right half-space, looked up once, and whipped in one of those trademark early crosses. Haaland bullied his way between Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté, powered above everyone, and thumped a header inside the near post. Goal scorer: Erling Haaland (33'). One chance, one goal – classic Haaland, deadly minimalism.

The real drama hit after the break. Liverpool started the second half like they were shot out of a cannon. In the 56th minute, Darwin Núñez chased what looked like a lost cause, pressured Rúben Dias into a mistake, stole the ball, and drove into the area. Dias lunged back, Núñez went down, and Anfield screamed for a penalty. The referee initially waved play on – and that's when VAR came crashing into the story.

After a long, tense check, the ref was sent to the monitor. Replays showed Dias clearly clipping Núñez’s trailing leg. Decision overturned, penalty given, City players surrounding the official in disbelief. Up stepped Salah again, staring down Ederson. He stuttered his run, sent the keeper the wrong way, and buried it low into the corner. Goal scorer: Mohamed Salah (pen 59'). Two goals for the Egyptian King, two body blows in the title race.

City almost instantly hit back. In the 67th minute, De Bruyne slipped Phil Foden into space on the left. Foden chopped inside, fired low toward the far post, but Alisson got the faintest touch to push it wide. Minutes later, Haaland had another big chance: a De Bruyne cut-back found him near the penalty spot, but his right-foot strike flew just over. For once, the most feared finisher on the planet blinked when it mattered.

On the other side, Liverpool’s big names stepped up. Salah was everywhere – dropping deep to link play, spinning out wide to drag markers away, and constantly tormenting Nathan Aké. Núñez did Núñez things: chaotic, relentless, and absolutely impossible to ignore. In the 78th minute, he nearly killed the game, smashing a header from a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross just wide with Ederson rooted.

The closing stages were pure stress football. City threw on extra firepower, with Julián Álvarez and Jérémy Doku trying to crack open a tiring Liverpool back line. Van Dijk, though, turned the final 10 minutes into a personal highlight reel – winning every aerial duel, throwing in huge blocks, and barking instructions like a captain who absolutely refuses to let this slip.

The final whistle blew at 2-1. Scorers on the night: Mohamed Salah (18', pen 59'), Erling Haaland (33'). The two headline stars both on the sheet, but the story is this: Salah answered the pressure with a statement performance, while Haaland – even with his goal – will know he left a second one out there.

Title race twist: Liverpool land a massive punch

This result hits the Premier League table like a thunderbolt. Liverpool’s win doesn’t just add three points – it shifts the entire mood of the season. City, usually the calm, inevitable machine, suddenly look… human. That one Haaland miss, that one Dias tackle, that one VAR check – those might be the moments we look back on if Liverpool end up lifting the trophy.

Right now, Liverpool jump ahead in the title race, with City forced to chase instead of control. The margins are tiny at the top, every point is gold, and every direct duel between the giants feels like a six-pointer.

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

Other big stories: Europe's elite under the spotlight

Elsewhere in Europe, the stars kept the goal tally ticking. In La Liga, Jude Bellingham once again delivered in the big moments for Real Madrid, popping up late in the box to score a decisive header in a tight 2-1 win. Goal scorer: Jude Bellingham adding another clutch moment – he just lives for the spotlight. In Ligue 1, Kylian Mbappé stayed on brand with a blistering counter-attacking finish for PSG, burning past two defenders before smashing home. Goal scorer: Kylian Mbappé, yet again reminding everyone that if you give him grass to run into, it’s basically game over.

But all of that still felt like the undercard. The main event was Anfield, the ripples from Liverpool vs City rolling across every football league table in Europe, because this is the level that sets the standard for everyone else.

Reporter's take: This felt like a statement, not just a win

From my seat, this didn’t feel like just another big-game W for Liverpool – it felt like a line in the sand. The intensity, the aggression, the way Salah dragged the team forward every time City threatened… that’s title-winning mentality. Salah was outright world-class tonight. Two goals, relentless movement, and every time he got the ball, you could feel the panic in City’s back line.

City weren’t bad – that’s the scary part. De Bruyne still created, Haaland still scored, and they still had spells where they pinned Liverpool back. But in the decisive moments, they blinked. Haaland’s missed chance in the second half felt massive, and Dias’ clumsy challenge on Núñez will be replayed a thousand times on every highlight reel and fan cam run.

In my opinion, this is the kind of night that tests a champion’s mentality. If City respond with a ruthless winning streak, we’ll say this was just a blip. If they stutter again, we’ll circle this game as the moment Liverpool really believed they could rip the crown away.

Full-time whistle: title race turned up to eleven

So where does this leave us? A fired-up Liverpool, a slightly rattled Manchester City, and a Premier League season that just went from interesting to absolutely unmissable. The top scorers today didn’t just pad their numbers – they rewrote the story of the season in real time.

If you’re trying to make sense of what this means for the run-in – Champions League spots, title dreams, and survival battles – the table is your best friend right now.

Check full stats & standings now

---

Editorial Note: This article is for entertainment and information purposes regarding current sports events. Sports betting and financial investments carry risks. Please gamble responsibly. Always check odds and terms with the provider.

@ ad-hoc-news.de