Anfield Nightmare: Reds Chuck Away Victory as City Steal It at the Death
Liverpool's hopes of Champions League football next season took a proper battering on Sunday as a shambolic final ten minutes handed Manchester City a 2-1 comeback win. In a match that had "should've won that" written all over it, Arne Slot's side somehow managed to turn three points into none, leaving them further adrift of Manchester United and Chelsea in the scramble for the top four.
The game came alive after the break when Dominik Szoboszlai smashed in an absolute beauty of a free-kick that bent past Gianluigi Donnarumma to give Liverpool the lead. But that goal only papered over the cracks. Summer signing Hugo Ekitike had an absolute stinker up front, fluffing two golden chances—including a free header he really should have buried—that would've killed the game off completely.
Then came the nightmare ending. After Bernardo Silva poked in an equaliser, goalkeeper Alisson Becker completely lost the plot. His reckless challenge on Matheus Nunes gave away a penalty deep into stoppage time, which Erling Haaland tucked away without fuss. As if that wasn't bad enough, Szoboszlai—the earlier hero—got himself sent off in the dying seconds, turning his brilliant free-kick into a footnote in a day to forget.
This was a game Liverpool absolutely should've wrapped up. While Florian Wirtz and Alexis Mac Allister showed glimpses of quality going forward, the team fell apart when it mattered most. Between Ekitike's woeful finishing and Alisson's moment of madness, Liverpool were their own worst enemies. It's a defeat that could come back to haunt them come the end of the season.