BERNARDO Silva admitted Manchester City’s Premier League title challenge was 10 minutes away from being extinguished before their stunning Anfield smash-and-grab.
Pep Guardiola’s side cut Arsenal’s lead at the top to six points as they sealed a first league double over Liverpool in almost 90 years to breathe fresh life into their fading challenge to regain English football’s greatest prize.
With six minutes left Silva cancelled out a stunning free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai – who was sent off in stoppage-time in a bizarre wrestling incident with Erling Haaland that saw a third goal from halfway by Rayan Ckerki ruled out shortly after City’s talisman striker had put his side ahead from the spot.
The Gunners’ advantage could be down to three points by the time they face Brentford on Thursday if City beat Fulham 24 hours earlier.
Arsenal still have to visit the Etihad Stadium in April, and explaining his muted celebration after equalising, Portuguese midfielder Silva admitted: “For the distance we have to make up on Arsenal it was important to go for another goal after I scored.
“I was happy because we were back in the game, but we needed another goal. It’s the hardest place to come in the Premier League and a point here is normally a good result here, but we needed the win.
“For me it’s the first win in nine years here apart from the Covid year. We knew before the game that probably the title race is over if we lose so we felt like we needed a win.
“There is still hope there and we will fight until the end. We need to keep doing our job, which we haven’t done lately. Had we done, we could be closer to Arsenal right now.”
After missing two of his previous five penalties, Haaland kept his nerve to ignore the gamesmanship of Szoboszlai and team-mate Alexis MacAllister to complete his side’s stirring comeback.
The Norway striker admitted: “Let’s be honest, this place is so tough to come to, so I was really nervous before the penalty. All my thoughts were just to get it into the back of the net, so it was an incredible feeling when it went in.
“Both Szoboszlai and MacAllister started speaking to me before the penalty. I just said to them ‘this is the first time I don’t want to speak to you!'”
Haaland had sympathy for Szoboszlai after the midfielder’s late red card as the pair wrestled each other to the ground almost oblivious to the ball as it trickled into an unguarded net.
Cherki’s bizarre effort was needlessly ruled out and play brought back for a free-kick to City to chalk-off what would have been one of the Premier League’s more idiosyncratic goals with Liverpool keeper Alisson out of the picture as he made his way back after going up for a corner in a bid to drag his side level.
Haaland added: “The referee has to follow the rules I suppose, but I feel bad for Szoboszlai because he gets a three-game ban. Just give the goal, and don’t give the red card.”
