Erling Haaland became the fastest player to score 100 Premier League goals as Manchester City beat Fulham 5-4 in a thrilling match at Craven Cottage.
Haaland netted his landmark goal with a fierce 17th-minute finish from Jeremy Doku’s centre, bringing up his century in what was just his 111th appearance in the competition.
Tijjani Reijnders and Phil Foden then got themselves on the scoresheet before Emile Smith Rowe’s header capped a frantic first half, but more drama was still to come.
Foden notched his second before Sander Berge’s own goal put City seemingly in control; however, Alex Iwobi’s strike and two goals from Samuel Chukwueze teed up a tense finish.
But Pep Guardiola’s team were able to hold on, which included a last-gasp clearance off the line from Josko Gvardiol to deny Josh King, to move within two points of leaders Arsenal, while, for all their effort, Fulham stay down in 15th, six points above the bottom three.
How the match unfolded
Having hit a post in the sixth minute, Haaland was not to be denied his milestone moment when he thundered Doku’s cross home after a clever initial dummy from Reijnders.
Haaland then returned the favour to Reijnders eight minutes before half-time with a defence-splitting pass that the Dutch midfielder raced on to before flicking the ball over Bernd Leno.
City had seemingly put the result beyond doubt when Foden picked out the top corner in the 44th minute with a stunning left-footed finish, but Smith Rowe’s equally exquisite header reduced the deficit in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.
The visitors, however, quickly reasserted their dominance after the break when Foden, assisted fortuitously by Haaland, finished at the near post before Doku’s curling shot deflected off Berge and nestled into the net via the right post, all within nine minutes of the restart.
Fulham came back again through Iwobi’s well-placed strike past Gianluigi Donnarumma, before half-time substitute Chukwueze rifled his first Premier League goal into the bottom-left corner, with his strike given after a VAR review in the 72nd minute.
Chukwueze then capitalised on some more poor City defending with a first-time finish to ignite hopes of an unlikely comeback with 12 minutes remaining, but City were able to hold out across eight minutes of additional time, though they had Gvardiol to thank after he hooked King’s goalbound effort off the line.
Silva’s super sub almost saves the day
Marco Silva’s team will have arrived back at Craven Cottage with confidence following their win against Tottenham Hotspur, a victory that brought up their first on the road this season.
And they had impressed in front of their supporters in 2025/26, conceding just three goals at home for the entire campaign, though City’s relentless first-half showing saw them equal that tally with just 44 minutes on the clock.
Fulham had shown signs of a threat on the counter-attack, with Smith Rowe their most influential attacking outlet as he brought a fine save out of Donnarumma at his near post before finally getting the better of the Italian with a fine glancing header.
Revived by pegging their opponents back, Silva made the bold move to introduce Chukwueze and Timothy Castagne in an attempt to attack the Citizens, but that decision looked to have been a poor one when Foden and Berge’s own goal put City back into cruise control.
But having impressed against Spurs, Chukwueze’s flair and skill in the final third caused City all kinds of problems and his quickfire double had the home fans at Craven Cottage jumping out of their seats, but it proved to be too little too late for Fulham.
However, the Cottagers will look to build on this performance when they take on London rivals Crystal Palace at home this Sunday.
Haaland’s record-breaking century almost overshadowed
An opening-day brace against West Ham United in 2022/23 was a sign of things to come for Haaland in the Premier League, but many may not have envisioned how quickly he would reach 100 goals in the competition.
Haaland came into this game without a goal in his last two top-flight outings, against Newcastle United and Leeds United, and it looked like it was set to be another frustrating night when he shot against a post when faced one-on-one with Leno early on.
But the Premier League’s top scorer produced a finish fans have become accustomed to seeing during his time in England, with Haaland smashing Alan Shearer’s record of being the quickest to hit 100, with the former Newcastle legend doing so in 124 matches.
However, Haaland’s landmark day was almost upstaged by Fulham’s heroics, with Guardiola likely to be unhappy with the way in which his City team defended, with Nico O'Reilly, Bernardo Silva and Donnarumma not covering themselves in glory for the hosts’ second-half goals.
And though Foden and Doku have appeared to have found their form, City and Guardiola will be hoping for improvements at the other end of the pitch when Sunderland visit the Etihad Stadium this Saturday.
Club reports
Fulham report | Man City report
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