Super Salah ignites Liverpool season as Man City lose for first time

A superb second-half goal from Mohamed Salah earned Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday as the champions lost their unbeaten start to the Premier League season in a heated thriller that saw home coach Juergen Klopp red-carded.

Salah raced away from Joao Cancelo to slot home and earn Liverpool a much-needed victory after they came into the encounter having suffered their worst start to a Premier League season after eight games since 2012-13.

The Egypt international, like many of his team mates, had also struggled to get going, but after scoring the fastest Champions League hat-trick in Liverpool's 7-1 rout of Rangers in midweek, his telling strike 14 minutes from fulltime continued his side's mini-revival.

The win moved Liverpool up to eighth in the standings on 13 points, 10 behind second-placed City, who trail leaders Arsenal by four points.

"Our position is not the best and it is just one game so we have to carry on. Hopefully this gives us more confidence," Salah, who had missed a similar opportunity to his goal earlier in the game, said.

"Today we created chances and when I missed the first I was calm because I knew the second would come. I just tried to stay focused and put it in the net because I missed the first one, and I got lucky."

Something had to give as Liverpool came into the game unbeaten in their previous 27 home league matches, while City had not tasted defeat in 22 on the road.

However, after an opening period that failed to live up to the game's blockbuster billing, with Erling Haaland, looking for his 21st goal of a remarkable season, twice going close for City, the second half began at a ferocious pace.

Salah was denied by a superb save from City goalkeeper Ederson moments after the break, before City then thought they had taken the lead through Phil Foden, only for it to be ruled out following a VAR review, Haaland deemed to have fouled Fabinho in the build-up.