Erling Haaland, who had already shattered the English goalscoring record earlier in the afternoon, soared beautifully in the box to meet an inswinging corner from Julian Alvarez in the final minute of added time.

At that point, Manchester City ought to have put the game out of reach, but with the scores tied at one, the stadium was holding its breath. When Haaland flicked the ball, it appeared to be traveling quickly toward the far corner but instead slid by.

Pep Guardiola was going through a thousand agonies on the touchline, rubbing his face with his hands, dancing like a tortured soul, lamenting his team’s mercy, and not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

For stretches of this match, City had played with Liverpool, but they had never been able to take them down. They had never been able to put a significant amount of separation between themselves and the side that has dominated City hegemony for the better part of the last ten years.

But once Haaland scored his first goal against Liverpool in the first half, making him the fastest player to 50 goals in the Premier League, Liverpool capitalized on good fortune, City lost their cutting edge, and Trent Alexander-Arnold gave Liverpool the equalizer they deserved for not giving up.

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On the touchline, Pep Guardiola went through a thousand agonies, dancing the dance of a tortured soul

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first Liverpool goal since May earned the Reds a point at the Etihad

The outcome didn’t much change the prediction that City will win the league title for the fourth time in a row this year. There is a strong confidence that the team will only get better as the season progresses and players like John Stones and Kevin de Bruyne return to the lineup.

However, Liverpool, who are performing admirably for a side going through a transition, reiterated with this point why they are their strongest rivals. Although Liverpool is attempting to establish a fresh rhythm with a new squad, Arsenal might yet be the team to push City the closest.

At least there are still new lands for City to conquer. After New Year’s Eve 2022, City has not lost or drawn at the Etihad since then. If they had defeated Jurgen Klopp’s team, it would have been their 24th straight home win across all competitions, smashing the record established by Sunderland in 1892. Now they will have to start that quest afresh from scratch.

Despite the absence of Jack Grealish from the team due to illness and Stones starting only from the bench, City dominated the first part of the match that pitted first against second.

Ten minutes into the match, Liverpool’s first scare came when Alisson sidefooted the ball straight to Phil Foden, who was attempting to get past City’s defense. With just fifteen yards remaining, Foden created space for a shot but directed it directly towards the Liverpool goalie, who was relieved.

Joel Matip broke out of defense and found Salah on the right five minutes later to give Liverpool their first opportunity of the match. Salah twisted around a crucifix, cutting inside. Nunez attempted a goal, but Ederson made a brilliant stop with his flying right-hand.

A minute later, Nunez could have scored when Dominik Szoboszlai threaded a ball past the City defense to release him. However, Nunez overreached himself, allowing Ruben Dias to tackle him and end the threat.

Liverpool quickly felt the remorse for the waste. Midway through the Liverpool half, Alisson, who was clearly nervous and uneasy, mishandled a kick and cut it directly into Nathan Ake’s path just before the half-hour mark.Ake demonstrated why he was chosen over Josko Gvardiol. He skillfully brought down the ball, swerved past two Liverpool players, and slapped a pass into Haaland. Even though he scuffed his left foot shot, Haaland took it on the half turn, and Alisson was unable to make up ground. Despite getting a hand on the shot, all he could do was push it into the net’s corner.It was the striker from Norway’s incredible 50th goal in 48 Premier League games for City. The previous record for the quickest person to get fifty goals was held by Andy Cole, although it took him 65 games to accomplish the milestone. Haaland is a unique place.City was the team in control.

Trent Alexander-Arnold fought tirelessly to try to contain Jeremy Doku, who posed a continuous threat down the City left, while Bernardo Silva controlled the game. Occasionally, Doku’s speed proved to be too much for him and Liverpool to handle.Guardiola frequently sunk to his haunches on the touchline as a result of his anxiety that Liverpool would punish City for their sporadic carelessness in possession. However, they didn’t. After missing his first opportunity, Nunez lost confidence and opted to pass twice when he had the chance to shoot.

City appeared more likely to score when they applied more pressure. Ederson had started the play with a pinpoint pass out of his area to Bernardo Silva, but Alisson had to dive at full stretch to push a low shot from Foden round the post.Six minutes after the interval, another Ederson-initiated play could have put City ahead by two goals. This time, Haaland played the ball to Julian Alvarez after controlling the goalkeeper’s throw out.Alvarez swatted the ball wide to Jeremy Doku, who dribbled past Alexis Mac Allister as if he didn’t exist before returning the ball to Alvarez’s path. Alvarez fired over the bar with his head high even though he was ten yards out.The match came to a deadlock.

After Rodri’s piledriver cannoned off Matip, City made a furious plea for a penalty for handball. The ball had bounced off the defender’s backside, according to replays.A few minutes later, Liverpool managed another escape.

Under pressure from Manuel Akanji, Alisson mishandled an Alvarez corner, which Dias poked into the net. Although there didn’t seem to be any contact between the Liverpool goalkeeper and Akanji, referee Chris Kavanagh blew for an infraction, and VAR supported his call.Doku broke free down the left again and sent another cross into the box, but City was unable to take the lead. Liverpool scurried it away despite Haaland’s attempts to poke it home.

Then Liverpool equalized against the run of play. There was a harmless build-up. On the right, Salah recovered an overhit cross, spun, and sent the ball into Alexander-Arnold’s feet. After taking one touch while moving, Alexander-Arnold smashed the ball past Ederson and into the net’s corner.