Liverpool Late Goals Persist: Slot Reflects On Anfield Defeat To Manchester City

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Liverpool suffered another painful late collapse at Anfield, losing 2-1 to Manchester City despite leading deep into the second half, as Erling Haaland’s stoppage-time penalty extended a worrying pattern of late concessions that Arne Slot admits the team is now almost beginning to expect.

The defeat also ended a long-standing Premier League trend for Liverpool at Anfield. They lost a league match at home after scoring first for the first time since a 2-1 reverse against Crystal Palace in April 2017, halting a 109-game unbeaten run in such situations across almost nine years.

Haaland’s winner, struck at 92 minutes and 42 seconds, was recorded as the latest winning goal scored by a visiting side at Anfield in Premier League history, since detailed timing began in the 2006-07 season, underlining once more how Liverpool’s late-game control slipped in the final moments.

This season, Liverpool have now conceded four winning goals in the 90th minute of league matches. That figure is already the joint-highest by any team in a single Premier League campaign, matching Watford in 2017-18, West Ham in 2021-22, Watford again in 2021-22, and Southampton in 2024-25.

The match itself swung several times. Dominik Szoboszlai put Liverpool ahead with a spectacular first-half free-kick, before Bernardo Silva levelled for Manchester City. With Liverpool leading 1-0 as late as the 83rd minute, it was the latest they had ever been ahead in a Premier League home game and still gone on to lose.

Slot reflected on the chaos and frustration that followed. "A lot has happened, which is normal in this fixture, Slot said.For us, we are disappointed to come away without a result. !We are almost getting used to conceding a goal in extra time. That happened again today. We had a good and impressive second half but, unfortunately, it was not a positive result.So many times this year, we haven't got what I think we deserve, and this is another time."

The closing stages brought more controversy for Liverpool. Szoboszlai received a red card after a VAR review for a foul on Haaland, leaving Liverpool with 10 players, even though Rayan Cherki had found the net from inside Liverpool’s half during the same move before play was halted for the offence.

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Slot suggested that decision was not the main talking point, turning instead to an earlier incident involving Mohamed Salah and Marc Guehi. Slot felt referee Craig Pawson should have punished an apparent last-player foul, which occurred when Salah broke clear and Guehi appeared to pull Salah’s shirt from behind.

"That is not the incident we should talk about, he said of Szoboszlai's red card. Maybe, he should have left it for a goal as it is, but if that is the rule, that is what we have to accept. We can talk about the decisions. I would like to talk about the one time Mo was through on goal and Guehi holds his shirt. Everyone who has been in this stadium in the last eight years knows if Mo is in that position, it is a goal, so it is denial of a goalscoring opportunity."

With statistical records highlighting repeated late setbacks, a historic home sequence broken, and refereeing choices questioned, the defeat against Manchester City added another layer to Liverpool’s season of narrow margins, leaving Slot convinced the team’s performances have often not been matched by their final results.