Liverpool vs Man City thriller goes wild: Anfield chaos, title race live
21.02.2026 - 16:41:46 | ad-hoc-news.deThe energy, the tackles, the chances – this wasn’t just another league game, this felt like a Champions League knockout night dropped into February. From Mohamed Salah to Erling Haaland, the big names were under the brightest spotlight, and only one of them truly owned it.
Liverpool 3–2 Manchester City – Salah the king, Haaland left raging
Liverpool came flying out like a team that absolutely refused to let the title slip away. Within 15 minutes, Anfield erupted. A slick move down the right, Trent Alexander-Arnold fizzed a low cross, and Mohamed Salah darted into the box and buried the opener with a left-footed finish into the far corner. That’s 1–0 and Salah already writing his name all over the Football results today.City, though, don’t panic. They rarely do. After a spell of control, they found their reply. Kevin De Bruyne picked up a loose ball, drifted into the half-space and slid a deadly pass between centre-backs. Erling Haaland shrugged off his marker and smashed a right-footed strike low past the keeper to make it 1–1. Classic Haaland, clinical and cold – or so we thought.
Then came the first wave of drama. Just before half-time, Liverpool broke again. Darwin Núñez’s shot was blocked, the ball looped up, and Luis Díaz reacted first, thumping a bouncing volley into the roof of the net for 2–1. City players swarmed the referee, screaming for an earlier offside in the build-up. VAR check. The stadium held its breath. After a long review, the goal stood. Anfield exploded, Pep Guardiola didn’t – his face said it all.
Second-half madness: VAR, missed sitters, and a late dagger
The second half turned into a pure end-to-end brawl. City grabbed control of the ball, but Liverpool were lethal on the break. Haaland had the first big moment: a low cross from Phil Foden found him right in front of goal, but from six yards he somehow stabbed it wide. You could feel the shock even through the TV – that’s the kind of chance he usually buries in his sleep.City eventually clawed it back. A corner swung in by De Bruyne, chaos in the six-yard box, and Rúben Dias pounced on the loose ball, poking home for 2–2. Cue more controversy: Liverpool screamed for a foul on Alisson as Dias challenged the keeper. VAR jumped in again, lines drawn, angles checked. Goal given. The boos around Anfield were deafening, and the Hot Topic online immediately became that decision – foul or fair fight for a 50–50 ball?
But this night had one more twist. With City pressing high for the winner, they got caught. In the 86th minute, Liverpool sprung a brutal counter. Alexis Mac Allister slipped a gorgeous ball between City’s centre-backs, and Salah, again, was the calmest man in the stadium. He shaped to shoot, dragged the ball inside, sent Nathan Aké sliding into another postcode, and then squared it unselfishly for substitute Diogo Jota who tapped into an empty net. 3–2. Absolute scenes.
Haaland had one last big chance in stoppage time – a looping cross from Bernardo Silva, Haaland rose above everyone, but his header flew just over. Hands on head, City fans in disbelief. On a night when Salah was ruthless and decisive, Haaland’s missed moments felt massive.
Heroes & flops: The stars under the spotlight
Mohamed Salah was on a different level. One goal, one assist, and constant menace whenever he got isolated one-on-one. His movement dragged City’s back line all over the place, and his decision to square to Jota instead of going for glory summed him up tonight – ruthless but smart. That’s a statement performance in the Premier League live title race.Erling Haaland, despite scoring once, will hate this one. He got his goal, sure, but big strikers are judged on big moments, and that second-half miss plus the late-header over the bar will be haunting him. On another day it’s a hat-trick; today it’s a mixed bag and a painful defeat.
Kevin De Bruyne was pure class on the ball, registering the assist for Haaland and delivering the corner for Dias’s goal. But defensively, City’s midfield left spaces that Liverpool ruthlessly exploited. On the other side, Trent Alexander-Arnold was electric going forward, and while he had defensive scares, his early assist and progressive passing gave Liverpool their rhythm.
Title race twist – where does this leave the table?
With Liverpool taking all three points, the title race just got seriously spicy. City drop crucial points in a direct duel, and Liverpool leapfrog them in the standings, tightening everything around the top of the Football league table. Arsenal and others will be watching this one back, grinning, because suddenly it’s a multi-team sprint again instead of a slow City march.Liverpool’s win not only boosts their own confidence but puts a real dent in City’s aura of inevitability. Away from home, against a top rival, they conceded three and looked vulnerable in transition – that will be a huge talking point in every preview and every bit of soccer news for the next week.
What does this mean for the title race? Click here for the live standings
If you’re scrolling Football results today and trying to piece together the bigger picture, that live table tells the full story: Liverpool climbing, City wobbling, and the gap between first and third shrinking fast.Social Media Spotlight: VAR rage, Salah love, City frustration
Online, the game has completely taken over the timeline. The biggest flashpoint? That Rúben Dias goal and the VAR decision not to rule it out for a foul on Alisson. Clips are everywhere, slowed down, zoomed in, debated from every angle. Rival fans are split straight down the middle.At the same time, Salah’s ice-cold display is being clipped, memed and replayed on loop. The calm cutback for Jota’s winner is already being called "football IQ on another level" by fans and pundits alike. On the City side, discussion is focused on Haaland’s misses and whether Pep pushed his high line too far, too often at Anfield.
The Internet is Exploding: 3 Social Media Highlights
X Discussion: Fans furious over the VAR call on Dias's goal and debating if Alisson was fouled
My take: Liverpool looked like champions, City looked human
In my opinion, this felt like one of those turning-point nights you look back on in May. Liverpool played with that old-school Anfield ferocity, the kind you just can’t fake. Salah was absolutely world-class, Mac Allister bossed the midfield in key moments, and Jota came off the bench like a closer in baseball – one chance, one kill.City weren’t bad – far from it – but they looked strangely human. The structure was there, the patterns were there, yet the ruthlessness wasn’t. Haaland scoring but still walking off frustrated says everything. If Pep doesn’t tighten that defensive transition, especially in big away games, this could be the season where the title slips away late instead of being locked up early.
From a pure neutral perspective, though? This is exactly what you want from Football results today: heavyweight clashes, iconic players, wild momentum swings, and a table that refuses to settle.
Final whistle: Title race wide open
So where does that leave us? Liverpool right back in the thick of it. City suddenly under pressure. Every point, every goal, every half-chance from here on out matters. And with the Champions League news and fixtures stacking up soon, squad depth and mentality are about to be tested to the max.If you’re trying to make sense of all the chaos, don’t just look at the single scoreline. Look at how it shakes the entire Premier League live landscape – and keep an eye on how Arsenal, and the chasing pack, respond next time they step on the pitch.
Check full stats & standings now
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