Liverpool vs Man City live thriller: Salah & Haaland light up title race
11.02.2026 - 13:08:59
This wasn’t just another Premier League live showdown, this felt like a mini Champions League final dropped into February. From the first whistle, you could feel the noise through the screen. Tackles flying in, presses timed to perfection, managers raging on the touchline – this was elite football, and nobody was hiding.
Liverpool 3–2 Manchester City: Salah vs Haaland, pure box office
Liverpool landed the first punch. On 18 minutes, Trent Alexander-Arnold whipped a trademark diagonal into the right half-space, Darwin Núñez bullied Ruben Dias in the air, cushioned the header into space and Mohamed Salah did what Mohamed Salah does – one touch out of his feet, second touch a laser into the far corner. 1–0 Liverpool, Anfield absolutely exploding.
But you knew City would respond. On 32 minutes, Kevin De Bruyne, back in the XI and looking like he’d never been away, slid a filthy reverse ball between Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté. Erling Haaland didn’t even break stride – one-step finish across Alisson, bottom left. Clinical. That’s Haaland back at the top of the top scorers today chatter, and suddenly the away end was bouncing. 1–1, game properly on.
The real chaos hit just before half-time. City thought they’d turned it around when Phil Foden smacked one in from the edge of the box after a cut-back from Jérémy Doku. But VAR took over the script: after a long review, Doku was ruled marginally offside in the build-up. Goal chalked off, Pep Guardiola losing his mind on the touchline, Liverpool fans celebrating like they’d scored another. That disallowed goal is easily the Hot Topic online – everyone’s arguing offside lines, camera angles, and whether the spirit of the game has been hacked by the tech.
Second-half madness: worldies, deflections, and a late sucker punch
Right after the restart, Liverpool went full throttle again. On 54 minutes, Luis Díaz danced in from the left, combined with Dominik Szoboszlai, and when the ball broke loose on the edge of the box, Alexis Mac Allister absolutely hammered a half-volley that nicked off Nathan Aké and flew past Ederson. Officially Mac Allister’s goal, 2–1 Liverpool, and Anfield turned into a storm.
City, though, are wired differently. On 69 minutes, De Bruyne arced in one of those evil inswinging corners, Alisson misjudged the flight, and Rúben Dias bullied everyone to power his header home. 2–2, and suddenly this felt like one of those title-decider classics where nobody blinks.
Then came the dagger. In the 88th minute, with City pushing high for the winner, Liverpool sprang the perfect counter. Núñez dragged Manuel Akanji wide, slipped the ball into space for Salah, and the Egyptian king turned creator with a ridiculous outside-of-the-boot pass. Substitute Cody Gakpo timed his run perfectly, slid in and poked it past Ederson. 3–2 Liverpool. Bedlam. Klopp sprinting down the touchline, Guardiola slumped, City players frozen.
Heroes, flops, and the stars under the microscope
Mohamed Salah was simply outrageous: one goal, one assist, relentless pressing, dragging City’s back line all over the place. In the unofficial football league table of form players, Salah is right at the top. His decision-making in transition is why this Liverpool side still terrifies anyone who plays a high line.
Erling Haaland did his job – one big chance, one big goal. But outside of that, Van Dijk and Konaté bodied him better than most. They forced him wide, denied him many clean looks, and you could see the frustration building when he started dropping deeper just to get a touch.
Kevin De Bruyne was City’s brain again – that assist for Haaland, constant half-space passing, and he was inches away from another when Foden’s goal was ruled out. Honestly, if City get this version of KDB every week, the football league table race is far from over.
On the flip side, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Aké had a rough night. They never really figured out the Salah–Núñez–Díaz rotations, and that late Gakpo winner came from Akanji stepping out half a second late. For a side that prides itself on control, City looked rattled every time Liverpool went direct.
What this does to the Premier League title race
So, what does this 3–2 do to the big picture? Liverpool’s win blows the title race wide open. They leapfrog City in the live football league table, City suddenly feel human again, and every neutral is secretly praying these two stay neck and neck till May.
City now have to chase, not control. Dropping points head-to-head against a direct rival stings more than any random draw away at a mid-table side. Liverpool, meanwhile, have sent a huge statement: Anfield is still a nightmare, and the old intensity is definitely back.
What does this mean for the title race? Click here for the live standings
Champions League vibes and wider soccer news
This felt like a preview of deep Champions League news nights. The tempo, the quality, the tiny margins – it’s exactly the environment where the likes of Salah, Haaland and De Bruyne usually decide seasons. Neutral fans got the perfect advert for top-level soccer games: world-class talent plus chaos, equals must-watch TV.
Elsewhere across Europe, the top clubs are watching this and taking notes. Liverpool’s super-direct, emotional surge vs City’s surgical control is the tactical clash that defines this era. If these two cross paths again later this season in Europe, nobody will complain.
The Internet is Exploding: 3 Social Media Highlights
X Discussion: Fans furious over the VAR offside that ruled out Foden's goal
My take: title statement or just one wild night?
Raw opinion time: this felt bigger than three points. For me, this was Liverpool announcing they’re absolutely, genuinely back in the absolute elite conversation, not just nostalgia merchants living off old memories. The counter-press was nasty, the front line was ruthless, and Anfield was basically a cheat code again.
City, though, are not done. If you let this team play you 10 times, they usually win six or seven. But when the game becomes chaos instead of control, they can be dragged into a dogfight – and tonight Liverpool did exactly that. In my eyes, Guardiola has to rethink how aggressively his back line pushes at Anfield, because Salah and Núñez love nothing more than that big empty space behind you.
Still, as a pure neutral spectacle, this was everything you want from top-tier soccer games: superstar duels, tactical chess, and a last-minute winner to blow the roof off.
We’re set up beautifully now. Every point, every slip, every late goal from here will twist that title narrative. And yes, I’m already circling the reverse fixture and dreaming of a Champions League knockout tie between these two.
Check full stats & standings now
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@ ad-hoc-news.de
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