Haaland hat-trick chaos as Man City edge Liverpool in Premier League live thriller
05.02.2026 - 16:14:02
Man City 3-2 Liverpool – Haaland the monster, VAR the villain
This one had everything. Goals, controversy, world-class stars, and a title race that just tilted sky blue for the night.
Manchester City opened the scoring early: in the 14th minute, Erling Haaland bullied his way between Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté, rose above everyone, and buried a towering header from a Kevin De Bruyne cross. 1-0 City, and you could feel the Etihad bouncing.
Liverpool hit back fast. In the 27th minute, Mohamed Salah equalised after a slick one-touch move. Trent Alexander-Arnold fizzed a diagonal into Darwin Núñez, who laid it off perfectly, and Salah drilled a low left-foot finish past Ederson into the far corner. Clinical. 1-1 and game on.
Then came the first flashpoint. Just before half-time, City thought they had a penalty when Phil Foden went down under a challenge from Joe Gomez. The referee pointed to the spot, Liverpool players surrounded him, and VAR got involved. After a long check, the decision was overturned, ruling minimal contact and a slight Foden push in the build-up. The stadium erupted in boos, Pep Guardiola laughed in disbelief, and social media instantly went nuclear over the call.
Second half, different story: Haaland time. On 56 minutes, De Bruyne slipped a disgusting through ball between the lines, Haaland brushed off Konaté like he wasn’t even there, and smashed a right-foot rocket into the top corner. 2-1 City, pure No. 9 brutality.
The hat-trick arrived on 72 minutes. After a City corner was half-cleared, Bernardo Silva picked up the second ball and floated a teasing cross. Haaland peeled off van Dijk’s shoulder and guided a clever header into the far corner for his third of the night. Erling Haaland hat-trick, 3-1 City, the Etihad absolutely exploding.
Liverpool refused to die. On 81 minutes, Salah turned provider, sliding a perfectly weighted pass into substitute Diogo Jota, who ghosted in from the left and slotted calmly past Ederson to make it 3-2. Jürgen Klopp threw on more attackers, and in stoppage time Liverpool thought they’d stolen a point when Núñez bundled the ball over the line from close range.
But VAR again. This time, Núñez was ruled offside by the tightest of margins – we’re talking toenail level. Goal chalked off, City survive, Liverpool furious, and X/Twitter instantly flooded with frame-by-frame screenshots of the offside lines.
Heroes and flops under the spotlight
- Erling Haaland – Absolute beast. Three goals, nonstop movement, dragged City over the line. When he’s like this, there’s pretty much nothing you can do.
- Kevin De Bruyne – Two assists, one of them a trademark slide-rule pass, and he dictated the tempo when City needed calm in the chaos.
- Mohamed Salah – One goal, one assist, and Liverpool’s most dangerous player all night. Every time he picked up the ball, City’s back line panicked.
- Virgil van Dijk & Ibrahima Konaté – Both had brutal moments against Haaland. You don’t often see van Dijk physically dominated, but tonight he was on the back foot.
- Phil Foden – Bright and aggressive, but will be remembered for the overturned penalty shout more than anything else.
For pure neutral drama, this match was a dream. For defenders and VAR officials? Not so much.
How this shakes up the football league table
With this win, Manchester City leapfrog Liverpool in the Premier League standings and throw a massive punch in the title race. City’s three points give them a slight cushion at the top, while Liverpool suddenly find themselves looking over their shoulders at the chasing pack. Arsenal and others will be watching these football results today and thinking, “Game on.”
City’s superior goal difference gets another bump thanks to Haaland’s treble, and that could be absolutely huge when we hit the final stretch of the season. Liverpool, meanwhile, will feel that between the disallowed stoppage-time goal and the first-half penalty reversal, they had enough big moments to at least escape with a draw.
What does this mean for the title race? Click here for the live standings
Champions League and wider soccer news vibes
This kind of high-intensity, heavyweight clash is exactly the tempo you expect from late-stage Champions League news, and both sides just sent a message to Europe. Haaland’s form will terrify any defence he faces in the knockout rounds, while Salah’s numbers stay absurdly elite. Even in a losing effort, he looks like the guy who can flip a tie on his own.
Elsewhere across Europe, top scorers today continue to stack their seasonal tallies. The battle for the Golden Boot in every major league is heating up, and nights like this shape the whole narrative: form, confidence, and fear factor heading into Europe.
The Internet is Exploding: 3 Social Media Highlights
X Discussion: Fans raging over the VAR offside that killed Núñez's late equaliser
My take: Haaland saves City, but questions remain
Here’s the thing: this was an absolute world-class performance from Haaland, but City can’t live like this every week. When your striker has to drop a hat-trick just to edge it at home, you know there’s still something a little off structurally. Defensively, they let Liverpool back into the game multiple times, and against a ruthless Champions League side, that can end your season.
Liverpool, on the other hand, will scream about VAR – and honestly, I get it. The offside on Núñez is technically correct by the book, but for fans it feels soul-crushing when the game is decided by freeze-frames and lines instead of moments and magic. Still, if you defend Haaland like that, you can’t just blame the officials.
In my opinion, neither manager walks away fully happy. Pep Guardiola knows City were hanging on at the end, and JĂĽrgen Klopp knows his team created enough chaos to leave with more than zero points. But for the rest of us? We just got a match-of-the-season candidate dropped right in the middle of the week. More of this, please.
Closing whistle: title race officially insane
From a pure drama standpoint, the football results today delivered exactly what you want: big stars, big goals, big controversy. Haaland’s hat-trick shakes the Golden Boot race, Salah keeps his elite numbers rolling, and the Premier League live title picture just got messier, louder, and way more fun.
If you’re trying to figure out what this madness means for your club, the only move now is to stalk the live table, refresh button ready.
Check full stats & standings now
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