Liverpool head coach Arne Slot maintained that his team are moving in the right direction despite another damaging setback, as a dramatic 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City further dented their Champions League qualification hopes.

The reigning champions have now managed just one win from their seven Premier League outings in 2026, a run that has left them sixth in the table and four points adrift of the top five.

Liverpool appeared set for a vital victory at Anfield after Dominik Szoboszlai curled home a magnificent free-kick, but a chaotic closing spell saw the hosts concede twice and finish the match with 10 men after Szoboszlai was shown a red card.

“You can’t compare this game to three or four months ago,” Slot said after full-time. “We’ve improved a lot, but now we have to make sure the results follow. Too often this season we haven’t got what I feel we deserved, and this is another example.”

Bernardo Silva’s equaliser six minutes from time ignited a frenetic finale. Liverpool then suffered their fourth stoppage-time defeat of the league campaign when Erling Haaland calmly converted a penalty to complete the turnaround. Even then, the drama was not over, as City had a further goal chalked off.

That incident came when Rayan Cherki rolled the ball into an empty net from near the halfway line, with Alisson Becker upfield searching for a late equaliser. In the build-up, Szoboszlai initially tugged Haaland, who then responded in kind to stop the Hungarian from clearing the ball. The goal was ruled out and Szoboszlai was sent off, a decision that left both benches frustrated.

“Come on, referee, give the goal and go home,” City manager Pep Guardiola joked afterwards.

Slot, however, was more aggrieved by an earlier call when the match was still goalless. Marc Guéhi received only a yellow card for pulling back Mohamed Salah just outside the penalty area, a decision the Liverpool boss felt should have resulted in a dismissal for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

“If there’s one incident we should really be talking about, it’s when Mo Salah is one-on-one with the goalkeeper,” Slot said. “Anyone who’s been in this stadium over the last seven or eight years knows that’s a goal for Salah. Once again, the referee’s decision went against us.”

The victory marked Manchester City’s first away win at Anfield in front of supporters since 2003 and moved Pep Guardiola’s side to within six points of league leaders Arsenal.