Erling Haaland’s thrilling stoppage-time penalty sent Manchester City to the top of the Premier League when they defeated Fulham 2-1 at home on Saturday after being reduced to ten men for more than an hour.
Pep Guardiola’s team was ferocious to start the game, grabbing a well-deserved lead as they rushed and overwhelmed their opponents, much like the relentless rain in Manchester. Even though the rain didn’t stop, City was pushed back and lost a player in the first 30 minutes.
Manchester City defeated Fulham 2-1 at home on Saturday despite being down to ten men for more than an hour thanks to a thrilling stoppage-time penalty from Erling Haaland. This victory propelled City to the top of the Premier League.
What happened in the game?
Starting the game fiercely, much like the unrelenting rain in Manchester, Pep Guardiola‘s team outran their opponents and took a deserving lead. City was pushed back and lost a player in the opening 30 minutes even though the rain didn’t stop.
The typical armadillo shell most teams use at the Etihad Stadium is not how Marco Silva put his team up. However, City quickly took advantage of the opening that the visiting press created behind Fulham’s backline.
After exchanging a flurry of passes in the center circle, Ilkay Gundogan advanced and, with a devilishly weighted pass, moved Julian Alvarez into the penalty area. The substitute for Haaland slammed a 17th-minute goal off the underside of the crossbar.
Before being dislodged from their stride in the 26th minute, City had a stifling advantage in possession and territory.
With the ball, Joao Palhinha disentangled himself from Nathan Ake and pushed Harry Wilson into the penalty area. Cancelo rammed into Wilson’s back while attempting to push Wilson out of the way, leaving the referee with no choice but to award a penalty and dismiss City’s final player.
Pereira made a harsh tackle that went unnoticed by the officials earlier in the first half, but he continued to play afterward and converted the penalty kick into the bottom corner.
City initially reacted haphazardly to the numerical disadvantage before tightening up after the break and deflating the game with a monopoly of the ball. All game long, Fulham was only allowed three shots.
For the final 25 minutes, Guardiola used his wildcard. Haaland stumbled off the bench to applaud what he believed to be the winning goal, but VAR came to the rescue.
The Nordic goal-disallowed gobbler’s header was set up by Kevin De Bruyne, who also offered another chance for a decisive sub substitution. De Bruyne was wriggling around in the Fulham penalty area when he provoked Antonee Robinson into a careless tackle, thereby earning the penalty Haaland scored in the 95th minute.
Player Ratings: Man City vs Fulham
1. Man City (4-3-3)
GK: Ederson – 5/10
RB: John Stones – 4/10
CB: Manuel Akanji – 5/10
CB: Nathan Ake – 3/10
LB: Joao Cancelo – 2/10
CM: Kevin De Bruyne – 7/10
CM: Rodri – 8/10
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 6/10
RW: Bernardo Silva – 5/10
ST: Julian Alvarez – 7/10
LW: Jack Grealish – 4/10
SUB: Phil Foden (64′ for Grealish) – 4/10
SUB: Erling Haaland (64′ for Alvarez) – 7/10
SUB: Ruben Dias (90+6′ for Gundogan) – N/A
Manager: Pep Guardiola – 5/10
2. Fulham (4-2-3-1)
GK: Bernd Leno – 4/10
RB: Kenny Tete – 6/10
CB: Issa Diop – 6/10
CB: Tim Ream – 4/10
LB: Antonee Robinson – 5/10
CM: Harrison Reed – 5/10
CM: Joao Palhinha – 6/10
AM: Andreas Pereira – 5/10
RW: Harry Wilson – 6/10
ST: Vinicius – 4/10
LW: Willian – 5/10
SUB: Tom Cairney (76′ for Vinicius) – 5/10
SUB: Daniel James (76′ for Wilson) – N/A
SUB: Kevin Mbabu (80′ for Willian) – N/A
SUB: Luke Harris (88′ for Pereira) – N/A
Manager: Marco Silva – 4/10
Player of the Match – Rodri
