Manchester City came from behind to beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield, with Erling Haaland scoring a penalty in stoppage time to keep the title race alive.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s sensational free-kick seemed to seal victory for the reigning Premier League champions, but Bernardo Silva equalized in the 84th minute and Alisson stunned the crowd when he beat Matheus Nunez.
Haaland then took the spot-kick, but there was still time for drama at both ends of the pitch. Gianluigi Donnarumma made a great save from Alexis Mac Allister, but Rayan Cherki’s goal was ruled out and Szoboszlai was sent off amid VAR confusion.
The three points, secured in such dramatic fashion, moved City back to within six points of leaders Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Arne Slott’s Liverpool remain four points behind fifth-placed Chelsea and are in danger of missing out on next season’s Champions League.
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Dominik Szoboszlai scores a sensational free kick to put Liverpool ahead!
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Bernardo Silva equalized for Man City late in the game.
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Erling Haaland scores a stoppage-time penalty and Man City win.
How Man City made a comeback
In a game that took a long time to get going, Haaland had the best chance of the first half right after the start, but Alisson saved it. City were better in the first half, but Liverpool gave it their all in a surprising second half.
Florian Wirths should have done better than hit Marc Gehi before Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike squandered the opportunity, but every touch was met with boos from Liverpool fans. But that didn’t seem to matter when Szoboszlai’s free-kick crashed into the goal.
The Hungarian fired a similar shot in front of the Kop to put Arsenal away, but City sparked a comeback for the first time in a while, led by substitute Czerki. It was his cross that Haaland nodded into the path of Silva for an equaliser, before Haaland had Nunez sent off and earned a penalty.
Haaland’s first goal at Anfield was the winner, just before Donnarumma’s heroics and Alisson’s controversial goal from Cherki, who came on to the pitch. Szoboszlai pulled Haaland back outside the box and the City striker hit back inside the area.
Although Haaland’s foul technically meant that a goal could not be awarded, referee Craig Pawson had to take into account the earlier foul by Szoboszlai and send off the Liverpool player who had denied him a scoring opportunity. As a result, both teams were not happy with the decision.
“Just give a goal, no red card. It’s simple,” Haaland said after the match. “That’s the rule, that’s the way it is.” But that was really a footnote. The story of this extraordinary match is that City somehow maintain their hopes of reclaiming the Premier League title.
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Szoboszlai sees RED and Manchester City’s goal canceled amid last-gasp VAR drama!
Silva: “If I had lost the title, the race would have been over”
Man City captain Bernardo Silva told Sky Sports.
“The whole team knew that if we lost this game, the title race would probably be over. They are still in a much better position than us. That brought us a little closer. We will fight until the end. We have six points and we are happy, but we have to keep doing our job and we haven’t been able to do that lately.”
Guardiola: “All we can do is breathe breathing down Arsenal’s neck”
When the captain’s comments were relayed to Guardiola in a press conference, the City manager quipped: “They didn’t tell me that (they thought it was over if they lost). Maybe I’m more optimistic than them. Looking at Arsenal, are they going to lose more than three games? Maybe not, but you never know in football.”
Guardiola later said: “I feel like a little bit of improvement is not enough to play against Arsenal, but we still have a margin (to improve). We have to play (against Arsenal) at home and of course we have to win. And as I’ve said, from my point of view, from my little experience, 13 games in the Premier League is a very long time.”
“It’s the right thing to do. When you go into the last game against any relegation-chasing team, it’s a right game, a football game, because they live to survive and they’ve had a long week to prepare.[On the other hand]you’re from the FA Cup, you’re from the Carabao Cup, you’re from the Champions League.”
“That affects the title race. That’s why it’s more difficult to get nine, 10, 11 points. That’s why all we can do is breathe on Arsenal’s neck, be there, try when they’re asleep, try to take advantage of them if they make something (a mistake).”
Slot is irritated with Guehi who can’t see red.
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Arne Slott suggests Marc Gehi should have considered red when pulling Mohamed Salah
In the second half, Gehi pulled on Salah’s shirt when the Liverpool forward was just outside the penalty area. The City defender received a yellow card for the foul, but Slott felt Salah would be able to continue scoring.
“If I had to talk about one moment, it would be the moment Salah scored and Gehi put on the shirt,” Slott said. “That was definitely a chance to score a goal. At PGMOL you could find someone who would say 20 out of 100 people would not get a red card.”
Nightmarish finale makes Slott’s woes even worse
The Liverpool manager’s first words at a press conference after Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester City were to say he felt “angry and frustrated” – and he went on to stick by his decision not to send off Guehi for tugging on Salah’s shirt.
That’s understandable. So close yet so far away. Liverpool were on the verge of a monumental victory that would bring them within two points of fourth place. In the end, coupled with Szoboszlai’s suspension, it was a crushing defeat.
It’s difficult to maintain perspective in these circumstances, but Liverpool’s performance in the second half was encouraging. They troubled City with their pressing and threatened to overwhelm them during long periods of the second half at Anfield.
“The improvements we’ve been making for three or four months have been obvious to everyone,” Slott said. “In the second half, our standards went up in terms of intensity and we were pressing everywhere and that was the biggest improvement we made.
“For the whole team to perform that well off the ball against probably one of the best teams in England in terms of possession is a huge improvement. It was a great second half. We were hoping for more than a one-goal lead.”
Rather, it is a defeat and, as Slott admitted in his last thoughts before his departure, it undermines any talk of progress at Liverpool. “The problem is that we don’t see this improvement in the league position, and that’s the most important thing,” the Reds manager said.
Liverpool face Sunderland on Wednesday. The hosts will have an extra day of rest and Slott will be looking to find a new solution at right-back, but he is now the fifth choice. A game that was close to a turning point only adds to the pressure.
