Erling Haaland says Manchester City’s dramatic 2-1 win at Liverpool on Sunday meant more than just the points and represented a statement from the club in terms of the Premier League title race.
City had won only once at Anfield under Pep Guardiola – during the 2020-21 fan-free Covid season – and went there on a run of one victory in six in the league which had allowed Arsenal to pull clear at the top.
City were nine points behind in second place at kick-off and their hopes looked set to evaporate as they trailed to Dominik Szoboszlai’s sensational 74th‑minute free-kick. But Bernardo Silva got City back into it with six minutes of normal time to play before Haaland scored what proved to be the winner from the penalty spot in the third minute of stoppage time.
The City goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, denied Alexis Mac Allister with a fabulous save in the 99th minute. And there was still time for Rayan Cherki, on as a City substitute, to have a goal disallowed from the halfway line and Szoboszlai to be sent off. When it was over, with the City fans ecstatic, it was difficult not to see it as a mood‑changer, a potential turning point.
Haaland was asked whether the win was bigger than just the three points. “It’s three points, it’s three points, it’s three points, simple as that, no matter who you play … if it is Tottenham or whatever,” he said. “But I know what you mean. And yes, definitely, it’s true.”
Was it a statement result? “Of course. And look at the emotions with the fans in the end. It was amazing. They deserve it after supporting us week in, week out. Yeah, they definitely deserve to win at Anfield.”
Haaland was also asked whether City had sent a message to Arsenal, who are next in action at Brentford on Thursday night. City play 24 hours earlier at home against Fulham. “No, not really,” Haaland said. “But it sends a good statement to our fans.
“We’ve seen before that the title race is not over until it’s over. I need to recover, eat some good food and focus on Fulham because there’s still many games.”
Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
In the Guardian app, tap the Profile settings button at the top right, then select Notifications.
Turn on sport notifications.
It was Haaland’s first win at Anfield, his first goal there, too. His numbers have crashed since Christmas; it was only his third goal in 13 City appearances. Previously this season, he had 25 in 23. Guardiola criticised Haaland for being “passive” in the second half at Anfield which, he said, was one of the reasons why the team struggled.
It was a continuation of an unwanted trend since the turn of the year; City losing their grip after a good first-half performance. This time, though, they rallied, with Haaland coming to life. It was his header that set up Silva’s goal. And how he handled the pressure on the penalty.
“I haven’t scored enough goals since the start of this year and I know that I need to improve,” Haaland said. “I know I need to be more sharp, better at all of this and this is something that I have to work on. I have to keep going because this is what everyone deserves and expects.
“I don’t want to speak about why I haven’t performed. I don’t think there’s any excuse. Fatigue is a lot in the head. It is a lot of games. Look at the schedule: it’s not easy. For me, it’s about staying fit, don’t get injured. That’s the most important thing. And try to be ready to help the team.”
Virgil van Dijk has said Liverpool struggled to execute a more direct gameplan in the first half against City and must eradicate the stoppage time goals that have damaged their title defence.
Liverpool were poor in the opening half and vastly improved after the interval. Van Dijk admitted Arne Slot wanted to go more direct but said Liverpool’s players were unable to carry out the plan effectively.
The captain said: “We were trying to be more direct. We were playing much more long balls for the space in behind because we know how City try to shut off the left, so if we invite the press from the start it could create trouble. Obviously we weren’t good enough in that sense and when they had the ball we couldn’t get the pressure we wanted.”
Haaland’s penalty was the fourth winning goal scored against Liverpool in the Premier League this season in the 90th minute or later. Slot’s side have also drawn two league games by conceding in stoppage time.
Van Dijk said: “Maybe you can compare the Palace goal and the Bournemouth goal but this one you can’t compare with the others. But the fact is we conceded late on and, I keep saying it, we have to do better in this.”
