Manchester City pulled off a stunning late comeback at Anfield to beat Liverpool 2-1, keeping their Premier League title hopes alive and ending a long drought of victories in front of fans at the famous ground.
For much of the evening, the game lacked spark. Liverpool barely threatened in the first half, failing to register a shot on target, while City created chances but couldn’t find the breakthrough.
Erling Haaland was denied early by Alisson, and Abdukodir Khusanov wasted a free header, leaving Pep Guardiola’s side frustrated despite their dominance.
The second half began with Liverpool showing more intent.
Mohamed Salah set up Hugo Ekitiké for what should have been the opener, but the forward somehow missed from close range. Then, in the 74th minute, Dominik Szoboszlai lit up Anfield with a thunderous free-kick that crashed in off the post, giving Arne Slot’s men the lead and seemingly dealing City another blow in the title race.
But the visitors refused to fold. With six minutes left, Haaland’s header set up Bernardo Silva to equalise from close range. Then, deep into stoppage time, Matheus Nunes burst into the box and was brought down by Alisson. Haaland stepped up and coolly converted the penalty, scoring his first goal at Anfield in City colours and completing the turnaround.
The drama wasn’t over. Rayan Cherki thought he had sealed the game with a remarkable strike from the halfway line into Liverpool’s empty net, but VAR intervened.
Referee Craig Pawson disallowed the goal and controversially sent off Szoboszlai for tugging Haaland’s shirt in the buildup, leaving Liverpool furious.
City held firm to secure their first league double over Liverpool since 1936–37, cutting Arsenal’s lead at the top to six points. For Liverpool, the defeat capped a miserable weekend, compounded by rivals Manchester United and Chelsea both winning to strengthen their grip on Champions League places.
Opta data underlined the significance of the result: Haaland’s penalty, timed at 92:42, was the latest winning goal by a visiting team at Anfield in Premier League history. Liverpool, meanwhile, have now conceded four stoppage-time winners this season, equalling the unwanted record for a single campaign.
