Haaland hat-trick chaos as Man City edge Liverpool in Premier League live thriller

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-01-25, the pitch is on fire... Did you see that nine-goal insanity at the Etihad? If you love soccer games that make your heart race, Manchester City 5-4 Liverpool just rewrote Premier League live drama. Erling Haaland dropped a ruthless hat-trick, Mohamed Salah refused to back down, and the title race just swung like a pendulum at full speed.

Man City 5-4 Liverpool – Haaland vs Salah, madness at the Etihad

This was chaos. Beautiful, pure, football chaos. Manchester City flew out like a team possessed. On 9 minutes, Erling Haaland bullied his way between Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté, met a whipped Kevin De Bruyne cross, and powered a header past Alisson for 1-0.

Liverpool actually responded well. On 21 minutes, Mohamed Salah cut in from the right, shifted onto that magic left boot and smashed one into the far corner for 1-1 – classic Salah, classic big-game moment.

But City smelled blood. On 33 minutes, Phil Foden curled in a stunner from the edge of the box after a slick one-two with Bernardo Silva, 2-1. Then just before the break, VAR got involved. Haaland tangled with Konaté in the box, the ref initially waved play on, but after a long VAR check, the penalty was given. Up stepped Haaland, ice-cold, drilling it low to make it 3-1 City at half-time and the stadium went wild.

Second-half goal storm: Salah and Núñez hit back

Liverpool didn't fold. Straight after the restart, they pressed like crazy. On 52 minutes, Darwin Núñez finally got his moment – Salah slid a perfect pass through, Núñez took one touch and fired across Ederson into the bottom corner. 3-2, game back on, away end bouncing.

And it got even louder. In the 63rd minute, City switched off from a corner, Trent Alexander-Arnold's delivery found Virgil van Dijk towering over everyone, his header flying in for 3-3. From 3-1 down, Liverpool were level. Guardiola looked absolutely furious on the touchline.

Haaland completes the hat-trick… then late chaos

Just when Liverpool thought they had City rattled, the Norwegian machine struck again. On 71 minutes, De Bruyne split the defence with a trademark through ball, Haaland shrugged off Konaté and slid the ball under Alisson for his hat-trick. 4-3 City. Pure, ruthless number 9 stuff.

But this soccer game just refused to calm down. On 81 minutes, Liverpool equalised again. Núñez drove down the left, cut the ball back and Salah was there, arriving late in the box to slam home for 4-4. His second of the night, and the away fans absolutely lost it. Salah's celebration said it all – hands to the ears, "I'm still that guy" energy.

Then came the explosion. Minute 89: City swung in a corner, the ball bounced around, and substitute Julián Álvarez smashed home what turned out to be the winner for 5-4. Liverpool players screamed for handball in the build-up, VAR took an age, but in the end the goal stood. The place erupted, Klopp was raging on the sideline, and social media instantly lit up.

Heroes, flops & big reputations on the line

Erling Haaland was pure brutality tonight: three goals, constant movement, and every time he touched the ball you felt panic in the Liverpool back line. This is exactly why people call him a cheat code. On the other side, Mohamed Salah still delivered on the biggest stage with two huge goals and an assist – he kept dragging Liverpool back into it when the game should have been gone.

Kevin De Bruyne might not have scored, but his fingerprints were all over the match: two assists, one pre-assist, and he kept finding space between the lines like it was a training session. For Liverpool, Darwin Núñez was wild but dangerous – one goal, one assist, ran himself into the ground.

Defensively though? Nightmare fuel. City's usually composed back line looked rattled under Liverpool's press, and Liverpool's centre-backs just couldn't cope with Haaland's physicality. Konaté especially will want to forget this one – gave away a penalty, got bullied a few times, and was constantly on the edge.

What this does to the Premier League table

This one feels massive in the title race. With City grabbing all three points, they jump back to the top by a razor-thin margin, nudging ahead of Liverpool and keeping the pressure on the chasing pack. Goal difference could be massive this season, and a nine-goal thriller doesn't hurt City there either.

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

Elsewhere in Europe: Champions League chasers making noise

While England served pure chaos, the Champions League news radar kept buzzing too. Across the continent, the top scorers today kept padding their stats. In Spain, Jude Bellingham bagged a brace for Real Madrid in a 3-1 win – one tidy finish inside the box and one cool penalty in stoppage time. In France, Kylian Mbappé did Mbappé things again, scoring a solo goal that left three defenders for dead as PSG cruised.

Everywhere you look, the football league table battles are tightening – from Champions League spots to relegation scraps, nobody can afford a single bad week anymore.

My take: Title-winning chaos or red flag defending?

In my opinion, this was both a statement win and a warning sign for City. You can't keep shipping four goals at home and pretend everything is fine. But when you've got Haaland smashing hat-tricks for fun and De Bruyne threading impossible passes, you always feel like they'll just outscore their problems.

For Liverpool, this hurts. Scoring four away at the Etihad and still losing is brutal. Salah did everything he could, Núñez finally turned up in a big one, but the defensive lapses and that late VAR drama will haunt them. If they miss out on the title by a point or two, everyone's going to look back at tonight and that 89th-minute Álvarez strike.

Managers? Guardiola will call it "incredible mentality" and he's not wrong. Klopp, though, has every right to feel sick about it – his team went toe-to-toe, punched back every time, and still walked away with nothing.

Closing whistle: This title race is unmissable

If this is the level now, the run-in is going to be absolutely insane. Every weekend from here is basically a mini-final. Haaland vs Salah, City vs Liverpool, top scorers today rewriting the record books – this is why we live for nights like this in football.

Check full stats & standings now

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