The thrilling Liverpool vs Manchester City game saw the Citizens pick up a 2-1 win at Anfield, which kept them firmly in the title race.
Manchester City’s win against the Reds took them up to 50 points, six points off league leaders Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola’s men, however, had to show their elite league-winning mentality, which has seen them win six Premier League titles in the last eight seasons, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after Liverpool had taken the lead with around 20 minutes to go.
Bernardo Silva got the equaliser for the Citizens as Erling Haaland converted a penalty at the death to earn City the win.
Liverpool vs Manchester City: City Snatch The Win At The Death
City started the match well in a hostile Anfield atmosphere, launching attacks repeatedly with a 4-1-4-1 formation.
Rodri was the lone defensive midfielder, but, in reality, Bernardo Silva kept falling back repeatedly to collect the ball and originate moves. However, in hindsight, he was probably needed by his team more often in the final third.
Omar Marmoush started on the left wing, and Haaland looked to turn provider for the Egyptian as they rotated positions.
However, the big Norwegian striker was occupied by the big centre-back duo of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.
As a result, Haaland struggled to get enough space and time to take shots at the goal. At times, the Citizens played a 4-4-2 formation with both Haaland and Marmoush up front.
Liverpool withstood the early onslaught and came back into the match by being more aggressive.
Dominik Szoboszlai, playing as a right-back, made several overlapping runs, which City found difficult to control despite having Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nico O’Reilly, both primarily defensive players, on the left side of the pitch.
The Reds also launched counterattacks frequently, which the Citizens managed to deal with mainly thanks to Marc Guehi.
Guehi made a few valuable interceptions and blocks, but did foul Mohamed Salah to earn a yellow card and rob the Egyptian of a sure goal-scoring opportunity.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: West Ham United vs Manchester United: Three Key Factors To Consider, Predicted Lineups and Team News
The goal came through a wonderful Szoboszlai free-kick that gave Gianluigi Donnarumma no chance to move.
City had already introduced Rayan Cherki in place of Marmoush prior to that, and the move paid dividends.
Manchester City started overloading the right side of their attack, as it seemed improbable that Haaland would ever be able to break the shackles of Van Dijk and Konate.
Cherki, Bernardo Silva and Matheus Nunes combined frequently down the right side of the pitch, and both goals originated from there.
First, it was Cherki’s cross from the right that Haaland headed to Bernardo for the latter to stick a boot out and see the ball go through the legs of Alisson.
For the second, it was another combination play that set Nunes free inside the penalty box, as the Liverpool goalkeeper rushed out and fouled the Portuguese full-back, which earned City a penalty.
Haaland converted the resulting spot-kick to earn the Manchester City win. The Liverpool vs Manchester City game was tough for the Citizens as the win did not come the easy way.
However, it showed the true champion mentality from City, who are used to success, and that came to the fore once again.
Arsenal are six points ahead, but, after the Liverpool vs Manchester City game at Anfield that saw the Citizens come out on top, the Gunners know fully well that they are being chased down.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO/Propaganda Photo
Recording Date: 08.02.2026
