Erling Haaland scored a dramatic late penalty to secure a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory for Manchester City over Liverpool and boost his side's Premier League title hopes.

Arsenal opened up a nine-point lead at the summit on Saturday, but Man City cut that back down to six after Haaland kept his composure in the third minute of stoppage time.

Dominik Szoboszlai, who was sent off in the dying seconds, thought he had set Liverpool on their way to a win, with a stunning free-kick that swerved past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

However, Bernardo Silva slid in to volley Haaland’s cushioned header past Alisson in the 84th minute before the Norwegian snatched all three points from the spot with his first Anfield goal, after the Liverpool goalkeeper had fouled Matheus Nunes.

Rayan Cherki then saw a late goal chalked off in a frantic ending, but Man City still move outright second after the win, while Liverpool remain sixth, five points behind Manchester United in fourth.

How the match unfolded

Haaland saw a rushed shot smothered by Alisson inside two minutes, but neither side was able to truly threaten again before the break.

With Liverpool on top in the second half, Szoboszlai’s magic moment broke the deadlock. The Hungarian struck an unstoppable free-kick from distance in off the right post, leaving Donnarumma helpless in the 74th minute.

But City showed their fight, with Silva timing his run to perfection to slide in and turn Haaland’s nod down past Alisson.

The Liverpool goalkeeper then rushed off his line to stop Nunes’ run from the right, taking out his legs, and Haaland made no mistake, picking out the bottom-left corner with his penalty.

Donnarumma then made an excellent sprawling save from Alexis Mac Allister’s thumping shot before Cherki scored from his own half – with Alisson forward – but it was ruled out for a foul by Haaland on Szoboszlai, who was chasing back.

The Hungarian also received a straight red card in the 13th minute of stoppage time, having tugged back Haaland moments before Cherki's strike had trickled in after a VAR review.

Szoboszlai’s mixed fortunes

After a winless start in the Premier League in 2026, Liverpool put on one of their best shows of the season with their 4-1 thumping of Newcastle United last weekend.

However, they made a slow start and were lucky that Alisson was alert to the danger when Haaland raced in behind, setting the tone for Man City’s early approach.

Arne Slot rallied his team at the break, and they put Man City’s shaky defence under pressure with Hugo Ekitike firing wide after profiting from a Rodri slip before nodding Mohamed Salah’s cross past the post after a pacy counter.

It looked like Szoboszlai had recreated his match-winning moment against Arsenal at Anfield back in August with a sublime effort, but in the end, his match ended in disappointment.

It was Szoboszlai who played Silva onside for City’s equaliser, and though he had no part in Haaland’s match-winner, he received his marching orders for a last-man foul.

Liverpool will go back to the drawing board as they face a tough trip to Sunderland, who are unbeaten at home in the league, on Wednesday, without their suspended midfielder.

Man City show title credentials

Last weekend, Pep Guardiola was keen to point out that there is still a long way to go in the title race, but the pressure was on them after Arsenal opened up a nine-point lead with a win over Sunderland.

They started on the front foot, racking up half-chances as they made it difficult for Liverpool to settle in front of the home crowd, but without truly testing Alisson, as Omar Marmoush and Antoine Semenyo saw opportunities go begging.

One thing that stayed firm was Man City’s defence as they continued their run of not conceding in the first halves of Premier League games since the turn of the year, but having failed to hit the back of the net, it raised an issue for the second half.

Before Sunday, they had failed to score after the break in league games in 2026, which could have caused nervousness when Donnarumma was beaten by Szoboszlai’s unsavable effort.

However, Silva led from the front and poached his third goal at Anfield before Haaland ended his drought at the stadium with a composed spot-kick.

But Donnarumma arguably produced the match-winning moment with a stunning stop from Mac Allister.

City now host Fulham on Wednesday as they look to cut the gap to Arsenal down even further.

What the managers said

Arne Slot: "Another great Liverpool-Man City game as we have seen over the years. It is a very disappointing outcome.

"They were more comfortable on the ball than us and it didn't lead to many big chances. Second half it was the opposite. And then for them when they were near our box it was a goal which is disappointing. We had chances when Curtis Jones has the ball and Salah makes a deep run. Unfortunately, Guehi intercepted it and then we all saw what happened.

"If the game goes on, you are always hoping you can keep the energy going and then sometimes they make mistakes. We had a good and impressive second half but unfortunately it was not a positive result."

Pep Guardiola: "I am really proud we won. The first half was incredible.

"Liverpool had the momentum [in the second half], and after Szoboszlai's free-kick, a copy paste of the one against Arsenal, what a strike. What a player.

"At the end, belief from our captain; his character, personality, not giving up. In the end, we came back.

"We played well in the first half but we didn't produce what we should have. We had to be a little bit more composed. Defensively we were so brilliant. The pace of Ekitike, Mo [Salah] and Gakpo. The second half we expected that." (premierleague.com)

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