Erling Haaland converted a stoppage time penalty to hand Manchester City a dramatic 2 1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, keeping the Premier League title race alive and cutting the gap to leaders Arsenal to 6 points.
City looked set to leave Merseyside empty handed after Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free kick put Liverpool ahead in the 74th minute, but a late Bernardo Silva equaliser set the stage for a chaotic finale.
Haaland’s 21st league goal of the season came deep into added time after Matheus Nunes was brought down in the penalty area by goalkeeper Alisson, following a through ball on the right flank. The Norwegian stepped up and calmly converted, scoring his first league goal at Anfield and silencing the home crowd.
The closing moments were filled with controversy. City’s Rayan Cherki appeared to have scored from the halfway line after Alisson had gone upfield, with Haaland and Szoboszlai grappling as the ball rolled into the net. Following a VAR review, the goal was disallowed, City were awarded a free kick, and Szoboszlai was sent off for tugging Haaland’s shirt.
City manager Pep Guardiola praised the spectacle after the match.
“Come on referee, give the goal and go home,” Guardiola told the BBC. “It was a brilliant advert for the Premier League. First half was really good and we lost a bit of momentum in the second half. Anfield can feel like that.
“What a strike from Szoboszlai and after that, led by our captain Bernardo, we come back.”
Manchester City had dominated possession in the early stages, with Haaland nearly opening the scoring inside 2 minutes when Silva played him through, only for Alisson to race off his line and smother the chance.
January signing Marc Guehi endured a hostile reception from the Liverpool crowd but remained composed, shutting down attacks from Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike as the hosts failed to register a shot on target before the break.
Liverpool thought they had a penalty late in the first half when Salah fell under pressure from Silva during a set piece, but neither the referee nor VAR intervened.
The hosts emerged strongly after the restart, forcing City onto the back foot as Ekitike missed two chances and Szoboszlai tested Gianluigi Donnarumma, before the Hungarian finally broke the deadlock with a swerving free kick that sailed past the City goalkeeper.
City responded 10 minutes later when Haaland headed a cross into Silva’s path, allowing the captain to finish from the edge of the six yard box and bring the visitors level.
Silva said the team knew defeat would have dealt a huge blow to their title hopes.
“For the distance that we have to Arsenal, coming here it is the toughest place in the Premier League by far but we needed to go for another goal,” Silva told Sky Sports. “When I scored, I was happy but we needed another and Erling got it.
“We could be closer to Arsenal … I feel the whole team knew before the game if we lost it then the title race was probably over. We felt like we needed to win.”
The result keeps City firmly in the title hunt after they had been staring at a potential 9 point deficit, while Liverpool slipped to 6th place, now 11 points behind Guardiola’s side.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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