Erling Haaland: Man City’s Statement Victory Was More Than Just Three Points

By Christian Amegbor
Feb Tue, 2026
in Sports

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Erling Haaland said Manchester City's 2-1 win over Liverpool on Sunday was enough, and represented the club in a speech about the Premier League.

City have won just once at Anfield under Pep Guardiola in the 2020-21 season behind closed doors, and they have gone there with one win in six league games, allowing Arsenal to move up to the top of the table.

City started the season in a difficult position against second-placed Manchester City, and their hopes of a comeback were almost dashed when they took the lead through Dominik Szoboszlai's 74th-minute strike. But Bernardo Silva brought City back into the game six minutes after half-time before Haaland scored the winning penalty in the third minute of stoppage time.

City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had Alexis Mac Allister save a header in the 99th minute. And there was still time for City's Rayan Cherki to score from the halfway line and Szoboszlai to be sent off. In the end, City fans were delighted, and it was hard to see it as a game-changer, or anything that could have changed the game.

Haaland was asked if the win was more important than the three points. "It's three points, it's three points, it's three points, but it's easy, whoever you play, whether it's Tottenham or something like that," he said. "But I know what you mean. And yes, of course, it's true."

Is the result clear? "Absolutely. And look at how the fans feel at the end. It's amazing. They deserve it after supporting us week in and week out. Yes, they definitely deserve to win at Anfield.

Haaland was also asked if City would send a message to Arsenal, who play Brentford again on Thursday night. City play Fulham 24 hours later at home. "No, not really," Haaland said. "But it sends a good message to our fans.

We've seen before that the title race isn't over until it's over. I need to recover, eat well and focus on Fulham because there are still a lot of games to go.

It was Haaland's first win at Anfield, and his first goal there. His goal tally has fallen since Christmas; it's only the third in 13 games for City.

Earlier this season, he scored 25 goals in 23 games. Guardiola criticised Haaland for his lack of composure in the second half at Anfield, which he said was one of the reasons why the team struggled.

It was a continuation of a pattern that had not been seen since the start of the year; City had lost control after a brilliant first half. However, this time, they came together, with Haaland coming back to life. His goal was to set up Silva’s goal. And how he handled the pressure from the penalty spot.

I haven’t scored enough goals since the start of the year and I know I need to improve, Haaland said. I know I need to be smarter, better at everything and that’s something I have to work on. I have to keep going because that’s what everyone deserves and expects.

I don’t want to talk about why I haven’t played. I don’t think there’s any excuse. I’m just tired. There are a lot of games. Look at the schedule: it’s not easy. For me, it's about being fit, not injured. That's the most important thing. And try to be ready to help the team.

Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool struggled to execute their direct game plan in the first half against City and had to get rid of the goals that broke the home defence.

Liverpool were the better team in the first half and improved a lot after half-time. Van Dijk admits that Arne Slot wants to play direct but says Liverpool's players can't execute the plan properly.

The captain said: "We try to play direct. We play long balls in the area because we know how City try to close down the left, so if we invite the press too early, that can cause problems. We definitely weren't good enough in that sense and when they got the ball we couldn't get the pressure we wanted."

Haaland's penalty was Liverpool's only Premier League win in the 90th minute or later this season. The Reds have also drawn two games in the league by scoring in stoppage time.

Van Dijk said: "You can compare Palace to Bournemouth but you can't compare this to the others. But the truth is we scored late and, I keep saying, we have to give it our all in this game."