JAKARTA - Manchester City beat Liverpool 2-1 through a last-minute penalty from striker Erling Haaland in the big match of the English Premier League at Anfield Stadium, Sunday, February 8, 2026 WIB. Man City again spread the threat to Arsenal who are ambitious to win the league title.
Man City showed mental strength when playing at home against opponents or indeed Liverpool who apes. In that big match, Liverpool made a brilliant start. Moreover, they played in front of their own supporters.
Only Liverpool had trouble breaking through the opponent's defense before finally scoring in the second half. However, this advantage did not guarantee Liverpool to end the match with the acquisition of three points.
Man City managed to bounce back to turn the tide. Ironically, Man City's victory was determined in injury time when the match was expected to end in a draw. Not only that, Pep Guardiola's team actually added another goal when the match was about to end.
However, Rayan Cherki's goal was annulled because Dominik Szoboszlai, who had previously brought Liverpool ahead, had committed a foul against Haaland. Szoboszlai then received a red card and Man City was only given a free kick.
However, Man City still ended the big match with a victory. And this is the first victory for The Cityzens at Anfield since 2003.
The success of getting three points also makes Man City back to spreading the threat to Arsenal. Now, Man City who is still in second place has collected 50 points. Six points behind the leader of the standings Arsenal who previously beat Sunderland 3-0.
"Before the match, we already knew that if we lost, the competition for the league title would be over. This is what makes us need a win," said midfielder Bernardo Silva, who equalized the score in the match.
For Liverpool, the defeat was clearly a huge blow as it thwarted their efforts to keep up with Manchester United and Chelsea in the race for a Champions League ticket next season. Liverpool is still in sixth place with 39 points. The defending champion is five points behind Man Utd who successfully beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0. Meanwhile, Chelsea is in fifth place with 43 points.
In that match, Liverpool and Man City both played openly so they alternately put pressure. Pity for Man City's new defender Marc Guehi who got boos from Liverpool fans from the start of the match. Because of that, Liverpool was about to recruit him from Crystal Palace but failed to reach an agreement last September.
Man City took advantage of the situation who needed a defender to buy Guehi. Man City's offer was approved by Palace and he moved to the Etihad.
Guehi's presence indeed makes Man City's defense more solid. On the other hand, their attack, which was led by Haaland, several times threatened Liverpool's defense. The Norwegian national team striker got a good chance when he received a breakthrough pass from Silva.
Only Haaland seemed to lack confidence to finish the opportunity. Under pressure from defender Milos Kerkez, he only fired a weak shot so that it was easily secured by goalkeeper Alisson. Even though they both played offensively, no goals were created so the score remained 0-0 at halftime.
In the second half, Liverpool again put pressure. But their efforts did not bear fruit. Likewise, Man City's attack still failed.
Liverpool finally broke the deadlock when they got a free kick in the 74th minute. The referee gave a dead ball after Ryan Gravenberch was brought down by Cherki outside the penalty area. The opportunity could be maximized by Szoboszlai and his free kick conquered Donnarumma.
Only Liverpool's 1-0 lead did not last long. When the match entered the final part of normal time, Man City managed to equalize the score. This time, Szoboszlai made a mistake by letting Silva welcome Haaland's header and fired a volley that broke into the Liverpool goal. The score changed to 1-1 after Silva's goal in the 84th minute.
The match became increasingly heated when entering injury time. Man City turned ahead after receiving a penalty following an offense committed by Alisson against Matheus Nunes in the 90+3 minute. The penalty execution was finished by Haaland very well which changed the score to 2-1 for Man City.
As the match was about to end, Cherki managed to add a goal for Man City in the 90+10th minute. It started with Cherki's long-range shot which rolled into an empty goal because Alisson, who was also attacking, was left behind. When Haaland chased the ball, he was then pulled by Szoboszlai which resulted in the two of them falling.
After reviewing the incident via VAR, the referee gave a red card to Szoboszlai who committed a foul against Haaland who was the last player to approach the Liverpool goal. Only, Cherki's goal was then annulled and the referee gave a free kick.
The score remained unchanged and remained 2-1 for Man City. Liverpool ended the match with a defeat that made manager Arne Slot disappointed.
"In the second half, we put high pressure and played good football. Our game got better but the final result should have been better," Slot said.
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