Liverpool suffered a tight 2–1 defeat to Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday afternoon in a tense Premier League clash that came alive after the break.
City started on the front foot and nearly struck inside the opening minute when Bernardo Silva slipped Erling Haaland through on goal, only for Alisson Becker to rush out and make a crucial block. The visitors kept the pressure on early, with Abdukodir Khusanov heading over from a Silva cross as City dominated possession and territory.
Liverpool found chances hard to come by in the first half. Their best moment arrived around the 25th minute when Alexis Mac Allister threaded a pass through to Mohamed Salah, but the forward couldn’t set himself in time to shoot. City controlled the tempo but failed to turn their superiority into a goal, while the Reds went into halftime without a single effort on target.
The hosts showed more intent after the restart, pushing higher and asking questions of City’s back line. Dominik Szoboszlai tested Gianluigi Donnarumma with a long-range strike, and Hugo Ekitike curled an effort narrowly wide. City responded when Antoine Semenyo forced another save from Alisson to keep things level.
Liverpool’s pressure eventually told in the 74th minute as Szoboszlai produced a superb free-kick, firing past Donnarumma to give the home side the lead. But the advantage was short-lived. Bernardo Silva quickly equalised, finishing after Haaland’s header caused problems in the box.
City then completed the turnaround when Haaland calmly scored from the penalty spot, netting his first-ever Premier League goal at Anfield. Liverpool’s afternoon went from bad to worse late on as Szoboszlai was sent off for fouling Haaland as the last man, leaving the Reds with ten players and no way back.
The win sealed a league double over Liverpool for City for the first time since the 1936/37 season. Even so, Pep Guardiola’s side remain six points behind leaders Arsenal, who beat Sunderland theday before.
