Haaland, VAR And A Title Race Rekindled: Man City Steal One At Anfield For The First Time Since 2003

Erling Haaland waited until the very last moment, but his stoppage-time penalty may yet loom large in the Premier League title race.

Manchester City snatched a dramatic 2-1 win at Anfield on Sunday, their first away victory over Liverpool in front of a crowd since 2003, trimming Arsenal’s lead at the top back to six points and injecting fresh tension into the run-in.

For long stretches, it looked like City were heading for a damaging defeat. Dominik Szoboszlai’s outrageous free-kick — clipped perfectly off the inside of the post — had Liverpool in front and Anfield rocking. With six minutes left, City’s title defence was slipping away.

Then chaos arrived.

Bernardo Silva levelled with a sliding volley after Haaland’s header, before the Norwegian

striker — quiet again from open play — stepped up deep into stoppage time to bury a penalty after Alisson Becker wiped out Matheus Nunes.

“I feel the whole team knew before the game, if we lost it then the title race was probably over,” Silva said. “We felt like we needed to win.”

City very nearly added a third in surreal fashion. With Alisson stranded upfield for a late corner, Rayan Cherki rolled the ball into an empty net from halfway. But VAR intervened: Haaland and Szoboszlai had been grappling as the ball trickled goalward, the strike was ruled out, and Szoboszlai was sent off in the same sequence.

The defeat was another blow to Liverpool’s Champions League hopes. Arne Slot’s side remain sixth, four points off the top five.

“Second half we pressed really high and played good football,” Slot said. “We have improved so much, but we need to improve the results.”

For all the drama, both sides again showed why Arsenal have been allowed to dream.

City faded badly after the break — a recurring theme this season — and Haaland’s confidence looked fragile early on, missing a clear chance inside two minutes. Liverpool, meanwhile, couldn’t turn dominance into control.

Two giants. Eight titles between them over the last decade. And yet, once again, cracks appeared.

The title race isn’t over. But it just got a lot louder.

(with AFP inputs)