Late goals from Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland gave Manchester City a rare win at Anfield. Check out the best facts and Opta data with our Liverpool vs Man City stats page.
A stunning late turnaround from Manchester City not only gave them their first win against Liverpool at Anfield in front of fans since 2003, but gave their slim Premier League title hopes a much needed boost.
After an almost entirely eventless first 73 minutes on Merseyside, Dominik Szoboszlai slammed in a free-kick to give Arne Slot’s side the lead. However, Bernardo Silva levelled before Erling Haaland slotted a stoppage-time penalty to hand City the victory.
There was controversy late on when Rayan Cherki’s shot from the halfway line ended up in Liverpool’s net, but referee Craig Pawson disallowed the goal in order to send Szoboszlai off for tugging Haaland’s shirt before the ball crossed the line.
Pep Guardiola’s men held out, though, cutting the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points following the Gunners’ routine 3-0 home win over Sunderland on Saturday.
The visitors dominated the first half, and should have taken the lead in just the second minute when Silva slid Haaland in for a glorious chance, but Alisson saved well at the Norwegian’s feet.
Abdukodir Khusanov should also have done better with a free header from a Silva free-kick in the 10th minute, but the centre-back’s effort went high and wide into the Kop.
The hosts did not see much of the ball, with their best chance of the first half coming when Gianluigi Donnarumma flapped at a cross from Szoboszlai, but Mohamed Salah’s attempted lob from a tight angle landed over the bar.
Liverpool struggled to get going in the opening half, not managing a single shot on target before half-time (three off target). City recorded 10 shots at goal, the joint-most the Reds have faced in the first-half of a home league game on record (since 2003-04).
The hosts had a fantastic chance to take the lead 10 minutes into the second half, though, when Salah crossed from the left for the in-form Hugo Ekitiké, but he inexplicably steered his header from point-blank range wide of Donnarumma’s goal.
If the first 70 minutes were dull, it was only setting up the tension for what was an astonishingly dramatic final quarter of the game.
In the 74th minute, just as he did against Arsenal on Matchday 3, Szoboszlai unleashed an unstoppable free-kick from long range that nestled into the opposition net. The Hungarian’s effort flew in off the post, and appeared to deal another hammer blow to City’s title hopes.
However, Guardiola’s men fought back to equalise with six minutes of normal time remaining. A deflected cross fell kindly to Haaland, who headed to Silva to turn in from close range.
Then just seconds into stoppage time, Matheus Nunes raced onto a ball into the Liverpool box and poked it past Alisson, taking the contact from the Brazilian goalkeeper and Pawson pointed to the spot. Haaland, who had an otherwise quiet game, tucked away low to Alisson’s right to make it a goal and assist, also scoring his first goal at Anfield as a City player.
There was still time for more drama, though, with Donnarumma pulling off a stunning save to deny Alexis Mac Allister, before substitute Cherki countered with Alisson well out of his goal after the goalkeeper had come up for the resulting corner.
Cherki passed the ball into the empty net from the halfway line, but the VAR decided to order Pawson to the pitchside screen. The referee subsequently disallowed the goal and sent off Szoboszlai, who had tugged Haaland’s shirt to prevent him from tapping in, before the former Borussia Dortmund man returned the favour to the Hungarian to allow the ball to trickle in.
The completely unnecessary dismissal of Liverpool’s best player, Szoboszlai, perfectly summed up a terrible weekend for Slot’s side, who now sit five points off fourth spot following their main rivals for a Champions League spot, Manchester United and Chelsea, both win on Saturday.
As for City, after falling short in so many big games in recent weeks, they saved their best for the champions to give their slim title hopes an injection of optimism.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Liverpool vs Man City stats from their Premier League meeting at Anfield on 8 February 2026.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Liverpool vs Man City: Selected Post-Match Facts
Manchester City have achieved a league double over Liverpool for the first time since 1936-37, with this just the sixth time ever they have done so against the Reds.
Liverpool have conceded four 90th-minute winners in league matches this season; already the joint-most by a team in a single Premier League campaign, after Watford in 2017-18, West Ham in 2021-22, Watford in 2021-22, and Southampton in 2024-25.
Timed at 92:42, Erling Haaland’s penalty for Manchester City was the latest winning goal by a visiting team at Anfield in the Premier League on record (since 2006-07).
Premier League Stats Opta
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