BY OUR MAN AT ANFIELD
ANFIELD erupted, then it exhaled, and then it simply exploded. In a breathless Sunday showdown that lived up to every ounce of its heavyweight billing, Manchester City didn’t just beat Liverpool 2-1—they snatched the Reds’ hearts out in front of the Kop and tossed them into the Mersey.
For 74 minutes, it looked like Arne Slot’s men had found the formula to derail the City machine.
Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool’s Hungarian maestro, threatened to become the eternal hero of the night.
He stepped up to a 25-yard free-kick and unleashed a “worldlie”—a heat-seeking missile that screamed into the top corner, leaving City’s giant keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma clutching at thin air.
Anfield went into orbit. But you don’t become champions by folding.
BERNARDO’S BITE
As the clock ticked toward the final whistle, the visitors’ diminutive captain, Bernardo Silva, decided he wasn’t finished.
The Portuguese wizard—voted Player of the Match—showed why Pep Guardiola treats him like a lucky charm.
In the 84th minute, Erling Haaland rose like a skyscraper to nod down a cross, and there was Silva, sliding in like a ghost to poke the ball past Alisson Becker.
1-1. The momentum didn’t just shift; it swung like a wrecking ball.
Then came the madness of stoppage time. City’s Matheus Nunes burst into the box, and a desperate Alisson took him down. The referee’s finger pointed to the spot, and the stadium fell into a deafening silence. Up stepped Haaland.
The Norwegian “Goal-Machine” had never scored a Premier League goal at Anfield—the last ground on his “To-Do” list.
With the ice-cold veins of a Viking, Haaland sent Alisson the wrong way to make it 2-1. He didn’t just score; he silenced 50,000 Scousers in a heartbeat.
The drama wasn’t done. In a finale that defied logic, Alisson went up for a corner, only for City to break.
Rayan Cherki rolled the ball into an empty net from the halfway line, but as Haaland and Szoboszlai wrestled for the ball on the goal line, VAR intervened.
The goal was chalked off, and Szoboszlai—Liverpool’s earlier hero—was shown a straight red card for a professional foul. It was the final act of a chaotic masterpiece.
City leave Liverpool just six points behind leaders Arsenal.
For the Reds, it’s a case of what might have been. For Pep, it’s a title race that is very much alive.
MATCH STATS
Liverpool: Szoboszlai (74′)
Man City: Silva (84′), Haaland (90+3′ pen)
Red Card: Szoboszlai (90+10′)
Star Man: Bernardo Silva (Man City)
