Bernardo Silva acknowledged the importance of Manchester City's win over Liverpool, suggesting the race for the title would be over had they lost. 

Pep Guardiola's side emerged 2-1 winners in a dramatic contest on Sunday, with Erling Haaland's 93rd-minute penalty, which was his first goal at Anfield, sealing a huge victory. 

Liverpool had taken the lead in the 74th minute through Dominik Szoboszlai's stunning free-kick, before Silva slid in to restore parity in the contest 10 minutes later. 

However, after Matheus Nunes was taken down inside the box by Alisson Becker, Haaland stepped up to convert from 12 yards, but that was not the end of the drama. 

With the Reds searching for a winner, Rayan Cherki thought he had added a third with Alisson out of his net, but the goal was ruled out for a foul by Haaland on Szoboszlai.

But instead, after a VAR review, Szoboszlai was dismissed in the 103rd minute after tugging the shirt of Haaland earlier in the sequence, capping a crazy match on Merseyside.

It's a result that moves City back within six points of leaders Arsenal, and Silva did not understate the importance of their win over Liverpool, which saw the Citizens complete a league double over their opponents for the first time since 1936-37. 

"It is the toughest place in the Premier League by far, but we needed to go for another goal," Silva told Sky Sports. 

"When I scored, I was happy, but we needed another and Erling got it. Very happy, but these points count as much as any in any other game.

"It has been frustrating at the beginning of the year because we have not done our job properly. We could be closer to Arsenal.

"For me, you must imagine how tough it is to win here, but I am really happy. I feel the whole team knew before the game if we lost it, then the title race was probably over.

"We felt like we needed to win. The hope is there, and we are going to fight until the end. We need to keep doing our job that we haven't lately."

The Opta supercomputer has assigned City a 7.1% chance of lifting the title, with Arsenal finishing top of the pile in 91.4% of its season simulations after the conclusion of matchday 25. 

But if a performance summed up their credentials of overhauling the Gunners, then this was certainly it from Guardiola's side. 

They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.91 from their 17 shots to Liverpool's 1.21 from 15 attempts, though City also had Gianluigi Donnarumma to thank. 

The Italy international pulled off a sensational save late in the day to deny Alexis Mac Allister's fierce drive, but the Citizens were deserving of their triumph here. 

The result saw Liverpool lose a Premier League game at Anfield in which they scored the opening goal for the first time since a 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace in April 2017.

Between those two matches, the Reds were unbeaten in 109 home league games when scoring the opening goal (W98 D11).

"It was a brilliant advert for the Premier League," Guardiola said. "The first half was really good, and we lost a bit of momentum in the second half. Anfield can feel like that.

"After that, we played more directly and, after that, we lost the ball and we were passive. Omar and Erling were passive and that's why we struggled. What a strike from Szoboszlai and after that, led by our captain Bernardo, we came back."

When asked about the dramatic ending to the game, Guardiola quipped: "Come on referee, give the goal and go home!"

The Spaniard also had plenty of praise for Silva, who delivered a man-of-the-match display for his team. 

Silva has scored three goals at Anfield in the Premier League, with this his most at an away venue in the competition. He is also now City's joint-top scorer at Anfield in the competition, along with Nicolas Anelka and Ilkay Gundogan (all three).

"He is one of the best players I have ever trained with. He is the perfect captain," Guardiola added.

"It is a joy for me as a manager to have him. The team comes first. His contribution is massive, and he is one of the legends of this club."