Once Dominik Szoboszlai scored a goal worthy of winning many a football match, Liverpool should not have lost this game.

Arne Slot’s side were poor in the first half, but looked a different force in the second period, with Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike all growing into the game.

Szoboszlai’s strike left most of the ground in disbelief, with Ibrahima Konate holding his hands on his head.

But, yet again, Liverpool failed to see the game out.

Only this time, it went from bad to worse when Alisson made a poor decision to bring Matheus Nunes crashing down for the penalty.

Liverpool have now conceded four 90th-minute winners in league matches this season – the joint-most by a team in a Premier League campaign after Watford in 2017-18, West Ham in 2021-22, Watford again in 2021-22, and Southampton in 2024-25.

And with Szoboszlai dismissed – as he grabbed Erling Haaland’s shirt to prevent the Norwegian striker making sure Rayan Cherki’s shot went in – and banned for Wednesday’s game against Sunderland, it remains to be seen who could fill in at right-back.

Pep Guardiola had spoken pre-match about the power of Anfield and how it was a stage that called for big personalities to make a difference.

Unfortunately for Liverpool, it was City who turned up in numbers on that front when it mattered most.

Slot’s side are now four points behind fifth-placed Chelsea. There’s still a long way to go, but it would be inexplicable if the current champions failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League.