The Paul Gorst verdict from Anfield as Liverpool are beaten 2-1 by Manchester City to suffer their eighth Premier League loss of the campaign
20:32, 08 Feb 2026Updated 20:45, 08 Feb 2026
Ibrahima Konate, Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker look dejected following Liverpool’s late loss to Manchester City at Anfield(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Perhaps the greatest indication yet that Anfield’s famous fear factor has evaporated is that even Pep Guardiola can now celebrate a win here. After 10 years at Manchester City, the celebrated Catalan had only previously been able to boast a 4-1 triumph behind closed doors, slap bang in the middle of a campaign that has come to simply be known, with no affection, as the ‘Covid season’.
Not now. The City boss can add this huge 2-1 victory to his catalogue as his side came from behind to showcase their championship credentials and keep alive a title race that had, with just a few minutes to go here, looked as though it was all over bar the shouting.
Arsenal will be kept honest, at least, after seeing their deficit reduced to six points with a visit to the Etihad still to come, but that is none of Arne Slot nor Liverpool’s business this time out. And an eighth Premier League defeat of the campaign leaves them now facing an almighty struggle for a place in next season’s Champions League. Just how has it all come to this?
OPINION
Ian Doyle
OPINION
Ian Doyle
Their best route to the promised land of the European Cup next year might be to win the thing outright because they don’t look equipped to put together the sort of sequence needed to overhaul Chelsea and Manchester United, who both look rejuvenated under new management.
Liverpool won’t be following suit in that regard and the ‘Reds’ Roundtable’ that was broadcast on official club channels this week with Slot, sporting director Richard Hughes and CEO Billy Hogan offered enough hints to suggest that a change in the dugout is viewed as a ludicrous prospect inside the place itself.
There is some merit in that but while the club will be determined to give a title-winning coach ample opportunity to turn things around, the fact is the champions – who pretty much relinquished their crown before the Halloween decorations had even been put on display – are now 17 points behind Arsenal. That, however much support you harbour for the regime, is surely inexcusable.
City did an expert job of smothering Liverpool first half, allowing them so little time on the ball, meaning they were forced to go long to get the likes of Cody Gakpo, Hugo Ekitike and Mohamed Salah involved via more direct routes.
Rodri and Bernardo Silva in particular excelled for the visitors and on the rare occasion the Reds did break beyond the midfield reserves, the archetypal ‘City yellow’ came into effect, with Nico O’Reilly taking a caution for hauling back Ryan Gravenberch.
The decision to start with Gakpo, Ekitike, Salah and Florian Wirtz was a bold one from Slot but for all the creativity and firepower it boasted on the team sheet, the rest of the side found it difficult servicing them.
Such was the difficulty in keeping possession, Liverpool’s first-half pass accuracy stood at a paltry 43% compared to their visitors’ 84%.
An improved second half saw the Reds bring the requisite levels of intensity but after Ekitike headed wide Salah’s sublime cross, Wirtz was denied by a goal-saving Marc Guehi block.
It was easy to see why Guehi was pursued by the powers that be at Anfield on the back of this performance. The new City signing might have played the role of pantomime villain but his was a one-man defence at times, blocking shots, intercepting cut-backs and generally ensuring the visitors were still alive as the game entered the final knockings.
The free-kick that gave Liverpool the lead was a piece of genius from Dominik Szoboszlai but the reality of playing a Duracell Bunny of a midfielder like the Hungary captain in defence came back to bite.
First, it was Szoboszlai who played Bernardo Silva onside to profit from Haaland’s knock-down on 84 minutes before he was then sent off for a passage of play that well went beyond the farcical.
After Haaland had made it 2-1 in stoppage time via the penalty spot when the cumbersome Alisson Becker had fouled Matheus Nunes, City thought they had won it when substitute Rayan Cherki rolled it in from the halfway line with the Liverpool goalkeeper up for a corner.
Szoboszlai’s decision to drag back Haaland on the way to goal was eventually pulled back for a red card from the erratic Craig Pawson, who checked with the monitor, meaning Cherki’s goal was chalked off and the Reds were reduced to 10 men as we reached the 104th minute.
With no other senior right-back currently fit, it means the inexperienced Calvin Ramsay will now jockey for position with midfielders Wataru Endo or Curtis Jones for the spot against Sunderland on Wednesday night.
Joe Gomez‘s return cannot come soon enough but Slot was not hopeful of that coming at the Stadium of Light. Does anyone have a number for Rob Jones?
So the 3-1 was downgraded but Haaland’s penalty was still another damaging goal conceded after 90 minutes.
It’s now eight points that have been so carelessly frittered away in stoppage-time and City can add their name alongside Crystal Palace, Chelsea United, Leeds, Fulham and Bournemouth. It’s the difference between floundering in sixth and sitting comfortably in third.
It was the latest Liverpool had ever led in a game at Anfield and lost, summing up neatly just how poor Slot’s side have become at seeing results out.
The lack of game-management has been appalling and the sight of Alisson trying to win flick-ons to salvage a point was undignified.
It’s been an awfully long time since supporters of Manchester City were able to celebrate in the away end and they made up for 23 years of lost time after the final whistle as they marked a statement result that keeps alive their hopes of another title.
For Liverpool, the painful reality is much different and failure to qualify for the Champions League could set the project back years given the fortunes on offer for a club bound by their self-sustainable model.