Liverpool vs Man City live thriller: Salah & Haaland light up title race
07.02.2026 - 12:36:19
Liverpool 2–1 Manchester City – Salah drags Anfield into a frenzy
This one exploded straight from kick-off. City tried to silence Anfield with those slow, suffocating passing patterns, and it worked early on. On 18 minutes, Kevin De Bruyne finally found the gap, sliding a filthy reverse pass into Erling Haaland. One touch, bang – low into the bottom right. Haaland 1–0, completely ice-cold finish. You could hear the collective gasp around the ground.
Liverpool didn't fold. They snapped. Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai cranked the tempo, and suddenly City's back line looked rattled. On 34 minutes, Trent Alexander-Arnold pinged one of those trademark diagonals to Luis Díaz on the left. Díaz chopped inside, laid it to Mohamed Salah on the edge of the box, and Salah did Salah things – quick touch, curled finish into the far corner. Salah 1–1, Anfield absolutely exploded.
From there, the game turned into a sprint relay. Haaland was bullying centre-backs, pinning Virgil van Dijk and spinning into space, while Salah kept dragging City's entire back four around like they were on strings. De Bruyne smashed one off the bar, Darwin Núñez missed a huge headed chance from six yards, and you could feel a late twist coming.
The winner & the VAR storm
On 82 minutes, we got it – and it's the moment everyone's raging about. Núñez burst into the box, went down under a tangle with Rúben Dias. The ref waved play on, but VAR called him over. After what felt like a lifetime of slo-mo replays, the penalty was given. City players were losing it, Pep Guardiola was doing windmill arms on the touchline, and social media went nuclear.
Who else steps up? Mohamed Salah. Calm as you like, he sent Ederson the wrong way, smashing it high into the right corner. Salah 2–1, second of the night, and suddenly Liverpool are looking at the top of the Premier League live table with a grin.
City threw everything forward in stoppage time. Haaland had one last half-chance – a looping cross from Bernardo Silva, guided header towards the far stick – but Alisson clawed it away with a huge save. Final whistle, 2–1, and Anfield turned into a full-on rave.
Heroes, flops & today's top scorers
- Mohamed Salah – Two goals, constant menace, dragged Liverpool to the finish line. In the conversation for top scorers today across Europe, and absolutely clutch.
- Erling Haaland – One clinical strike, a couple of scary moments, but not enough touches in the second half. Not a flop, but Liverpool managed to cage him just enough.
- Kevin De Bruyne – That assist was pure genius, but he faded as Liverpool's press suffocated City's midfield. When he's quiet, City look human.
- Virgil van Dijk – Early wobble against Haaland, then turned into a wall. Won everything in the air late on.
Title race shockwaves & the live table
This result flips the whole vibe at the top. Liverpool leapfrog City in the football league table, putting serious pressure on the rest of the pack. Arsenal and the chasing Champions League spots crew are suddenly watching this and thinking: one slip and the whole stack of cards falls.
We're still mid-season, but nights like this feel huge. City lose ground, Liverpool send a massive statement, and every neutral just won. For the full context – who's in the top four, who's sliding towards trouble, and how tight the points gap really is – you need the live standings in front of you.
What does this mean for the title race? Click here for the live standings
Across Europe: Champions League hunters making noise
Elsewhere in Europe, the Champions League news angle is all about who's peaking at the right time. In La Liga, Jude Bellingham kept his ridiculous form going with another goal for Real Madrid – ghosting into the box late to tap in after a Vinícius Jr cut-back. That finish might look simple, but his timing is borderline unfair.
In Ligue 1, Kylian Mbappé did what Mbappé always does: one-on-one, squared up a defender, dropped the shoulder and whipped a rocket into the top corner. Straight screamer. PSG fans are already dreaming of what that means for the knockouts, and the rest of Europe is quietly panicking.
Between Salah, Haaland, Bellingham and Mbappé, today's soccer news is basically a highlight reel of the sport's biggest names reminding everyone why they're front and centre.
Social Media Spotlight
The Internet is Exploding: 3 Social Media Highlights
X Discussion: Fans furious over that late VAR penalty call at Anfield
Reporter's take: this felt like a turning point
Let's be real: in my opinion, this felt bigger than just three points. City looked oddly vulnerable once Liverpool cranked up the chaos, and that's not something we say often about Guardiola sides. The way Salah took over the game while Haaland drifted to the edge in the second half says everything about mentality right now.
If you're City, you're fuming about the penalty – but you also can't hide from the fact that you let Anfield dictate the rhythm. If you're Liverpool, you're thinking: keep this energy, keep this aggression, and the title is absolutely on.
Managers will throw out the usual lines in the post?match pressers, but for me, this was a statement: Liverpool are fully, loudly, back in the thick of it.
Don't blink – the season is about to get wild
From Anfield madness to Bellingham running La Liga and Mbappé terrorising Ligue 1, today felt like one of those days where every notification on your phone is a new goal alert. If this is the tempo now, the run?in is going to be pure chaos.
Want to see exactly how every goal today shook up the numbers? Who jumped into the Champions League spots, who slipped out, and who's suddenly staring at a relegation fight? Hit the live table and dive into the details.
Check full stats & standings now
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