A look at how the national media reacted to Liverpool's 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday - the Reds' eighth defeat
Arne Slot reacts during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on February 08, 2026
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(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
An eighth Premier League defeat of the season leaves Liverpool facing an uphill battle for Champions League qualification now.
A 2-1 loss for Arne Slot's side at home to Manchester City means the Reds are now five points adrift of Manchester United in fourth and four behind Chelsea, who occupy fifth, which is likely to be the final qualification spot.
The ECHO, as ever, was at Anfield to watch it all unfold as it happened. You can catch our big-match verdict, our player ratings, post-game analysis and the reactions of Arne Slot and Pep Guardiola on our dedicated pages. You can also relive things in our live blog from Anfield.
Our colleagues from the national media were also on hand to give their own considered takes. Here's what they made of it all.
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On The Times' pages, Paul Joyce writes: "At the height of this rivalry, a few years back when Liverpool and Manchester City would stand toe to toe throughout and trade blows like two prizefighters, this was often billed as the match the whole planet should watch.
"There were times in the latest instalment when an estimated audience of 800 million worldwide may have wondered what all the fuss was about until a dizzying, final passage served as a timely reminder of why it is dangerous to ever look away.
"With 15 minutes remaining, Pep Guardiola was slumped in his seat, crestfallen at Dominik Szoboszlai’s stupendous free kick from 35 yards that had left City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma unmoved.
"It was a truly remarkable finale, an assault on the senses, especially with Szoboszlai sent-off in the 103rd minute for pulling back Haaland as the rivals attempted to stop each other from reaching a pea-roller from Rayan Cherki that found the net from his own half with goalkeeper Alisson was stranded up-field.
"At the final whistle, he was celebrating a first ever win at Anfield in front of a crowd after an equaliser from the irrepressible Bernardo Silva and a stoppage-time penalty from Erling Haaland. Another box had been ticked on Guardiola’s CV and with it the Premier League still had a title race.
"It was a truly remarkable finale, an assault on the senses, especially with Szoboszlai sent-off in the 103rd minute for pulling back Haaland as the rivals attempted to stop each other from reaching a pea-roller from Rayan Cherki that found the net from his own half with goalkeeper Alisson was stranded up-field."
Lewis Steele, of the Daily Mail, writes: "Szoboszlai, not for the first time this season, produced a magic moment but was let down by his team-mates. File it in the category of wondergoals that ultimately counted for zilch. After making Erling Haaland anonymous for 84 minutes, they ended up letting him score and assist another.
"It rather sums up their campaign. Glimpses of something special but most of them undone. Given we are all considering City to still be in the title race when six behind, we must also have Liverpool in the hunt for Champions League football again at five behind Manchester United.
"Chelsea and United above them will, almost certainly, drop more points than Arsenal, too. So Slot’s men certainly can finish in the top four and the wise money would still be on them to do so.
"Yet based on the last four and a half months – where is the evidence that they are good enough to do so? This was the 14th time in the last 20 games that they have failed to win and they have taken three points in just six games since September 20.
"That is mid-table form and maybe their league position is helped by the fact they started the season with five wins in a row. Imagine telling folk six months ago that Keith Andrews’s Brentford would be level on points with the champions in mid-February.
"Imagine telling United fans back in September they would soon be five clear of Liverpool, when they were in the bottom half and their bitter rivals were top of the table."
Over on The Independent's pages, Rich Jolly mused: "A farcical finish, but a fantastic win for Pep Guardiola. He had waited a decade to taste victory at a full Anfield. When he did, with a comeback for the ages, seemingly capped by a goal from the halfway line into an empty net, pernickety officiating injected an element of absurd with a decision that no one wanted or needed.
"And yet the overall outcome was the same. As Liverpool led, it felt as though Arsenal were about to be anointed champions. “The whole team knew before the game if we lost it then the title race was probably over,” said Bernardo Silva. Instead, he helped revive it.
"Erling Haaland, policed well by Virgil van Dijk, enduring a frustrating afternoon, suddenly turned catalyst. A manager who had visited Anfield 10 previous times, winning only in lockdown, got the triumph that had always eluded him. 'It is so difficult,' sighed Guardiola. “Anfield is Anfield: the tradition, the history, the crowd.'
"His historic triumph had considerable consequences for Liverpool. Dominik Szoboszlai had shaped up as the match-winner and ended up sent off and suspended for Wednesday’s trip to Sunderland. Arne Slot beat Guardiola at home and away last season.
"Now there has been another reversal in fortunes – indeed City’s first league double over Liverpool since 1937 – and a second defeat in three league games left the Dutchman bemoaning misfortune. 'So many times this year we haven’t got what I think we deserve and this is another time,' sighed Slot. 'I am feeling anger and disappointment.'
"An extraordinary end was a familiar one for a team who have conceded four injury-time winners this season. If, for much of the match, this seemed a pale imitation of some of the epic encounters between Guardiola’s City and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, the last half-hour brought drama to rival any. And, for Szoboszlai, a cruelty."
The Daily Mirror's chief football writer, John Cross, reflected: "Liverpool boss Slot will know that he has one hell of a job on his hands to save their season from imploding because their confidence and defence looks so fragile. The away end was bouncing and, as Guardiola and his players went over to the travelling fans, they were punching the air in delight with Haaland leading the chorus of delight.
"You write City and Guardiola off at your peril and what was equally telling was that when they looked done and dusted they just found a way to claw it back.
"This is a long way from a classic Guardiola team but they showed at Anfield they still retain the title-winning mentality and spirit which has set them apart for so long. It was a pretty ordinary first half lacking in action and drama. City were the better team and Marc Guehi looks an outstanding acquisition but they did nit create much. Nor did Liverpool."
And in the ECHO's verdict: "Perhaps the greatest indication yet that Anfield's famous fear factor has evaporated is that even Pep Guardiola can now celebrate a win here. After 10 years at Manchester City, the celebrated Catalan had only previously been able to boast a 4-1 triumph behind closed doors, slap bang in the middle of a campaign that has come to simply be known, with no affection, as the 'Covid season'.
"Not now. The City boss can add this huge 2-1 victory to his catalogue as his side came from behind to showcase their championship credentials and keep alive a title race that had, with just a few minutes to go here, looked as though it was all over bar the shouting.
"Arsenal will be kept honest, at least, after seeing their deficit reduced to six points with a visit to the Etihad still to come, but that is none of Arne Slot nor Liverpool's business this time out. And an eighth Premier League defeat of the campaign leaves them now facing an almighty struggle for a place in next season's Champions League. Just how has it all come to this?"
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