Late penalty and VAR chaos keep Manchester City in title hunt at Anfield
Erling Haaland scored a stoppage-time penalty to send Manchester City to a 2-1 comeback win at Liverpool on February 8, in a match that lurched
Erling Haaland scored a stoppage-time penalty to send Manchester City to a 2-1 comeback win at Liverpool on February 8, in a match that lurched from one flashpoint to the next at Anfield. The Norway striker had missed from open play in his recent outings, but he delivered when it mattered most — and kept Pep Guardiola’s side in the title race.
The result carried extra weight because it was City’s first win in front of a crowd at Anfield since 2003. It also cut Arsenal’s lead at the top back to six points, after a night that looked to have gone against City before it swung back again, and then swung once more.
A finish full of twists
Liverpool appeared to have stolen the momentum when Dominik Szoboszlai hammered in a superb long-range free kick in the 74th minute. For a while, City looked stranded. Then Bernardo Silva volleyed home Haaland’s knockdown to level the score, and the game became frantic.
From there, the oddity only deepened. City substitute Rayan Cherki sent a shot from inside his own half while Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker had pushed up in search of an equaliser. Haaland and Szoboszlai chased after it. The Liverpool midfielder pulled Haaland back, Haaland tugged back in return, and the ball rolled over the line.
Referee Craig Pawson then went to VAR. After the check, he ruled that Haaland had been denied a goalscoring opportunity, disallowed the goal, awarded City a free kick about 30 yards out and sent Szoboszlai off. The sequence turned a bizarre passage into a decisive one.
City hold nerve under pressure
Haaland did not need a second invitation. His penalty in added time beat Alisson and put City ahead for good. “I was really nervous right beforehand,” he said. “All my thoughts were getting in the back of the net.”
There was still time for one more scare. Gianluigi Donnarumma produced a sharp save to keep out Alexis Mac Allister’s effort, and the crowd at Anfield stayed on edge until the final whistle. City had already seen Cherki’s halfway-line strike wiped out by VAR, adding another layer to a match that never settled.
For Guardiola’s side, the night was about more than three points. It was a reminder that the title race can turn on one penalty, one review and one desperate run from halfway. Arsenal remain in front, but City are still there — and after Anfield, they have shown they are not going quietly.
