Liverpool stun Man City in late drama as Haaland misfires – Live reaction
12.02.2026 - 18:12:31
Kick-off! As of today, 2026-02-12, the pitch is on fire... You wanted football results today? You just got one of the wildest nights of the season. Liverpool 2–1 Manchester City at Anfield, a late twist, a massive VAR check, and some of the biggest stars on the planet thrown right into the spotlight.
From the opening whistle this felt like a Champions League knockout tie disguised as a league game. End-to-end chaos, crunching tackles, and that constant roar you only get under the Anfield lights. If you blinked, you probably missed another chance as the Premier League live tempo stayed absolutely ridiculous for 90+ minutes.
City still drew first blood though. On 27 minutes, a slick triangle on the right saw Bernardo Silva combine with Kyle Walker, Walker drilled a low cross and Phil Foden arrived at the back post to bury it into the top of the net. 0–1 City, and the away end absolutely erupted. Foden’s hot streak continues – his technical level right now is outrageous.
Liverpool’s response? Savage. Within ten minutes they were level. Dominik Szoboszlai snapped into a tackle in midfield, fed Alexis Mac Allister, and the Argentine threaded a filthy pass through the lines. Salah timed his run, darted across Rúben Dias, and smashed a left-footed finish across Ederson into the far corner. Mohamed Salah again – the man is basically a guarantee in any list of top scorers today. 1–1, Anfield bouncing, Salah milking it in front of the Kop.
City thought they’d retaken the lead when De Bruyne curled in a free-kick and Rúben Dias bundled the ball over the line in a mad scramble. The referee gave the goal on the pitch, but VAR intervened. After a long, tense check, the replays showed Haaland just offside in the build-up, leaning ahead of Virgil van Dijk by a shoulder. Goal chalked off. Liverpool fans went wild, City players furious, and the whole stadium absolutely lost it. This is the Hot Topic of the night – that marginal offside call on Haaland is everywhere online.
And as often happens, the team that feels robbed gets punished. In the 82nd minute, Liverpool pounced. A loose Rodri pass was intercepted by Curtis Jones, who immediately fired it wide to DĂaz. He danced at Walker, shifted onto his right, and whipped in a teasing cross. City half-cleared, the ball dropped at the edge of the box, and Darwin Núñez – on as a sub – smashed a bouncing volley through a crowd of bodies into the bottom corner. 2–1 Liverpool, limbs all over Anfield, Núñez sprinting the length of the pitch to celebrate with the bench. A proper chaos-striker goal.
Haaland had one last chance to salvage a point in stoppage time. De Bruyne slid him through on 92 minutes, one-on-one with Alisson. You’d put your mortgage on him to score – but the big Norwegian dragged his shot just wide of the far post. Head in hands, you could see it on his face: this was not his night. From a match report point of view, that moment sums it up – hero all season, but tonight, Haaland was a rare flop in front of goal.
Salah, by contrast, was everywhere. Beyond his equaliser, he constantly pulled Dias and Akanji out of shape, held the ball up, and created space for DĂaz and Núñez. In the battle of superstars, the Egyptian king completely outshone City’s No. 9.
For live context, form, and goal difference swings after tonight’s fireworks, check the official standings below – they tell the whole story of how big this win is for Liverpool and how damaging it could be for City.
Elsewhere across Europe, the Champions League news radar is buzzing about how this result might affect seedings, momentum, and the psychological edge heading into the knockout rounds. Teams like Real Madrid, Bayern, and PSG will be quietly watching Liverpool’s resurgence and City’s wobble, wondering who actually looks like the real juggernaut right now.
If you’re into soccer news with a bit of chaos, tonight’s your paradise. X (Twitter) is absolutely melting down with angle-by-angle freeze frames of the VAR lines on Haaland, slow-mo replays of Núñez’s winner, and endless debates about whether the ref “ruined the game” or “saved football” with that decision. Over on Instagram, Liverpool’s official account is already dropping clips of the dressing-room scenes – music blasting, Núñez screaming into the camera, Salah grinning like he knows exactly what he’s just done to the league race. YouTube is getting flooded with highlight packages from the big broadcasters, all pushing that winning goal as one of the moments of the season so far.
On the flip side, this was an absolute world-class performance in terms of mentality from Liverpool. They were second-best for stretches but never mentally checked out. Van Dijk and Konaté threw their bodies at everything, Mac Allister quietly ran the midfield, and Salah once again turned up when it really mattered. Jürgen Klopp’s game management – especially bringing on Núñez to stretch that tired City back line – was spot on.
And Haaland? He’s still a monster, still one of the best on the planet, but tonight is the tape every defender in Europe will watch on repeat. He looked slightly rattled after that early miss and never quite got his swagger back. For once, he was human – and Liverpool pounced on that.
Don’t just rely on the vibes though – check the numbers, the streaks, and the fine margins. One look at the live table tells you how massive Salah’s equaliser and Núñez’s winner really are for Liverpool’s season and for City’s suddenly shaky aura of invincibility.
From the opening whistle this felt like a Champions League knockout tie disguised as a league game. End-to-end chaos, crunching tackles, and that constant roar you only get under the Anfield lights. If you blinked, you probably missed another chance as the Premier League live tempo stayed absolutely ridiculous for 90+ minutes.
Red Thunder vs Blue Machine – Full-Throttle Classic
Liverpool came out flying. Luis DĂaz and Mohamed Salah pressed like maniacs, forcing City’s back line into mistakes. But the first punch actually came from Pep Guardiola’s side. In the 18th minute, Kevin De Bruyne slipped a trademark through ball into the left channel, Phil Foden cut inside, and his low strike was parried by Alisson straight into the path of Erling Haaland. Normally that’s a tap-in every day of the week, but Haaland scuffed it wide from six yards. You could feel the shock inside the stadium – that was the first sign this might not be his night.City still drew first blood though. On 27 minutes, a slick triangle on the right saw Bernardo Silva combine with Kyle Walker, Walker drilled a low cross and Phil Foden arrived at the back post to bury it into the top of the net. 0–1 City, and the away end absolutely erupted. Foden’s hot streak continues – his technical level right now is outrageous.
Liverpool’s response? Savage. Within ten minutes they were level. Dominik Szoboszlai snapped into a tackle in midfield, fed Alexis Mac Allister, and the Argentine threaded a filthy pass through the lines. Salah timed his run, darted across Rúben Dias, and smashed a left-footed finish across Ederson into the far corner. Mohamed Salah again – the man is basically a guarantee in any list of top scorers today. 1–1, Anfield bouncing, Salah milking it in front of the Kop.
Second-Half Madness: VAR, Missed Sitter, and a Killer Finish
The second half turned into pure drama. Haaland kept finding good positions but it just wouldn’t fall for him. Early on he met a De Bruyne corner with a powerful header, only to see Alisson fingertip it onto the bar. Then on 63 minutes came the big talking point everyone’s spamming on socials right now.City thought they’d retaken the lead when De Bruyne curled in a free-kick and Rúben Dias bundled the ball over the line in a mad scramble. The referee gave the goal on the pitch, but VAR intervened. After a long, tense check, the replays showed Haaland just offside in the build-up, leaning ahead of Virgil van Dijk by a shoulder. Goal chalked off. Liverpool fans went wild, City players furious, and the whole stadium absolutely lost it. This is the Hot Topic of the night – that marginal offside call on Haaland is everywhere online.
And as often happens, the team that feels robbed gets punished. In the 82nd minute, Liverpool pounced. A loose Rodri pass was intercepted by Curtis Jones, who immediately fired it wide to DĂaz. He danced at Walker, shifted onto his right, and whipped in a teasing cross. City half-cleared, the ball dropped at the edge of the box, and Darwin Núñez – on as a sub – smashed a bouncing volley through a crowd of bodies into the bottom corner. 2–1 Liverpool, limbs all over Anfield, Núñez sprinting the length of the pitch to celebrate with the bench. A proper chaos-striker goal.
Haaland had one last chance to salvage a point in stoppage time. De Bruyne slid him through on 92 minutes, one-on-one with Alisson. You’d put your mortgage on him to score – but the big Norwegian dragged his shot just wide of the far post. Head in hands, you could see it on his face: this was not his night. From a match report point of view, that moment sums it up – hero all season, but tonight, Haaland was a rare flop in front of goal.
Salah, by contrast, was everywhere. Beyond his equaliser, he constantly pulled Dias and Akanji out of shape, held the ball up, and created space for DĂaz and Núñez. In the battle of superstars, the Egyptian king completely outshone City’s No. 9.
What It Means for the Football League Table
This result flips the title race narrative. Liverpool leapfrog City and crank the pressure right up at the top of the football league table, while Guardiola’s side suddenly look a little more human. City’s usually ice-cold finishing deserted them, and that might cost them when we look back at the end of the season.For live context, form, and goal difference swings after tonight’s fireworks, check the official standings below – they tell the whole story of how big this win is for Liverpool and how damaging it could be for City.
What does this mean for the title race? Click here for the live standings
Elsewhere across Europe, the Champions League news radar is buzzing about how this result might affect seedings, momentum, and the psychological edge heading into the knockout rounds. Teams like Real Madrid, Bayern, and PSG will be quietly watching Liverpool’s resurgence and City’s wobble, wondering who actually looks like the real juggernaut right now.
Social Media Spotlight – VAR Rage & Anfield Chaos
The Internet is Exploding: 3 Social Media Highlights
X Discussion: Fans furious and divided over the VAR offside call on Haaland's disallowed goal
Reporter’s Take – Brutally Honest
Here’s my uncensored view: City bottled this one. With the amount of control they had in the first half and the chances carved out for Haaland, this game should’ve been dead by 60 minutes. Instead, they let Liverpool hang around, fed the Anfield crowd with sloppy passes, and paid the ultimate price. Guardiola will point at the VAR call, but if you’re truly elite, you kill the game long before the officials get involved.On the flip side, this was an absolute world-class performance in terms of mentality from Liverpool. They were second-best for stretches but never mentally checked out. Van Dijk and Konaté threw their bodies at everything, Mac Allister quietly ran the midfield, and Salah once again turned up when it really mattered. Jürgen Klopp’s game management – especially bringing on Núñez to stretch that tired City back line – was spot on.
And Haaland? He’s still a monster, still one of the best on the planet, but tonight is the tape every defender in Europe will watch on repeat. He looked slightly rattled after that early miss and never quite got his swagger back. For once, he was human – and Liverpool pounced on that.
Full-Time Whistle – What’s Next?
So in the list of huge football results today, Liverpool 2–1 Man City sits right at the top. It blows the title race wide open, sends shockwaves through every dressing room chasing European spots, and sets up an absolutely insane run-in across all competitions. If this is the energy we’re getting in February, imagine what April and May are going to look like.Don’t just rely on the vibes though – check the numbers, the streaks, and the fine margins. One look at the live table tells you how massive Salah’s equaliser and Núñez’s winner really are for Liverpool’s season and for City’s suddenly shaky aura of invincibility.
Check full stats & standings now
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@ ad-hoc-news.de
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