Liverpool vs Man City Live: Anfield chaos as title race explodes

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-01-25, the pitch is on fire... Did you see that Liverpool vs Manchester City showdown at Anfield? This is exactly why you love soccer games – pure chaos, big stars, huge goals, and a title race swinging in real time. From Mohamed Salah vs Erling Haaland to a stoppage-time twist that had everyone on their feet, this one was box office.

Liverpool 3-2 Manchester City – Anfield turns the title race upside down

Anfield under the lights, Premier League live tension everywhere, and within minutes you could feel it: this wasn't just another game, this was the game.

Liverpool struck first. On 18 minutes, Trent Alexander-Arnold picked the lock with one of those trademark diagonal switches. Luis Díaz killed it with a velvet first touch, squared low, and Mohamed Salah did what Mohamed Salah does – one touch to set, second to bury it into the far corner. 1-0 Liverpool, the Kop exploding.

City, though, are never dead. Ten minutes before half-time, Kevin De Bruyne reminded everyone he's still the passing cheat code of world football. He drifted right, whipped in a wicked ball, and Erling Haaland bullied his way between the centre-backs to power a header past Alisson. 1-1, and Haaland gave that ice-cold celebration right in front of the stunned home end.

Just after the break, Liverpool hit back again. A clever one-two between Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister sliced City open. The cutback found Darwin Núñez, who took a heavy first touch – classic chaos merchant – but somehow lashed the second into the roof of the net. 2-1 and Anfield went absolutely wild. Núñez, the agent of madness, fully unleashed.

But this is a saga, not a one?off punch. On 71 minutes, City equalised in pure Pep-ball style. A 20-pass move ended with Bernardo Silva slipping in Phil Foden, whose low drive was parried by Alisson straight into the path of Erling Haaland. Tap-in, 2-2, Haaland's second of the night. He barely celebrated – straight back to the centre circle, locked in on the hat-trick and on the title.

The VAR bombshell and the last?minute winner

And then came the moment everyone is screaming about online. 88th minute. Ball clipped into the box towards Núñez, Ruben Dias goes to ground, there's contact, Núñez hits the deck. The referee waves play on, but VAR calls him over.

Replay number one: looks soft. Replay number two: you can clearly see Dias clipping Núñez's standing leg just as he's about to shoot. After a long, agonising check, the ref turns back and points to the spot. Penalty Liverpool. The whole of Anfield roars; City players surround the official, Pep is losing his mind on the touchline. Social media? Meltdown mode.

Who else steps up but Mohamed Salah. 92nd minute. He breathes, stutters, and whips it low into the bottom corner. Ederson guesses right but the strike is too clean. 3-2 Liverpool, Salah's brace, and the stadium is shaking. Haaland looks stunned, De Bruyne just stares at the turf. That was the punch that might define the season.

Heroes and flops: big names under the spotlight

• Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – Two massive goals in the biggest fixture of the season so far. His movement tortured City's back line all night, and when the game hung on a thread, he didn't blink. That's what world-class looks like.
• Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – A brutal brace, elite positioning, and he bullied Liverpool physically. But he'll know it doesn't mean much when you leave Anfield with zero points. He was a hero individually, but in a losing cause.
• Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – The vision was still unreal, with the assist for Haaland's first, but he faded late on as Liverpool's press went into overdrive. Not a flop, but not full god-mode either.
• Darwin Núñez (Liverpool) – Goal, relentless running, won the controversial penalty. Chaos personified, and tonight, chaos helped win the game.

Title race stakes: Liverpool leap, City wobble

This result is massive in the football league table picture. With these three points, Liverpool jump ahead of Manchester City and crank up the pressure at the top of the Premier League. City, who came into Anfield knowing a win would give them breathing space, now find themselves chasing again.

Arsenal and the rest of the pack will be watching this and quietly cheering. A 3-2 Liverpool win means the gap between the top three is razor-thin, and every slip from now until May is going to feel fatal. The title race just went from spicy to full-on volcanic.

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

Champions League implications and wider soccer news

Beyond the Premier League live drama, this kind of high-intensity classic matters for the Champions League news cycle too. Both these sides are judged on Europe, but nights like this show who's mentally stronger in the crunch moments. Salah, again, feels inevitable on the big stage. Haaland, despite the brace, walks off frustrated. And somewhere in Madrid, Barcelona, Munich and Paris, they're taking notes.

With the top scorers today including both Salah and Haaland, the Golden Boot race is as fierce as the title fight. Every goal is a headline, every miss a talking point. This is why today's soccer games feel like a mini?final every single weekend.

My take: this felt like a statement, not just three points

Let's be real: in my opinion, this was more than a win for Liverpool – it was a full-throated statement that they're ready to go punch-for-punch with City again. The energy, the intensity, the way they refused to fold when Haaland dragged City back into it… that looked like a team that believes the title is theirs to grab.

For City, this felt weirdly fragile. Normally they manage game states to death; today they got dragged into Liverpool's chaos and couldn't control the tempo when it mattered most. Pep is going to absolutely hate that VAR call, but if he's honest, he'll know City invited the storm with sloppy defending and tired legs late on.

The big narrative? Salah is still that guy. People keep asking if he's past his peak and every time he drops a performance like this with ice-cold decision-making in the clutch. Meanwhile, Haaland scores twice and still walks off feeling like the villain of the story. Elite football is brutal like that.

What's next?

All eyes now swing to the next round of fixtures. Every draw feels like a defeat, every defeat like a disaster. The Premier League live drama is fully locked in, the Champions League knockout rounds are just around the corner, and you can feel that we're heading toward one of those insane seasons that people talk about for years.

If tonight is the benchmark, buckle up. The top of the football league table is going to move, twist, and flip every single weekend – and we're all just along for the ride.

Check full stats & standings now

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