Man City cling on to beat Fulham in nine-goal thriller
Fulham 4Smith Rowe (45’+2)
Iwobi (57′)
Chukwueze (72′, 78′)
Man City 5Haaland (17′)
Reijnder (37′)
Foden (44′, 48′)
Berge (OG, 54)
Manchester City clung on to win an extraordinary game at Craven Cottage, where Fulham were 5-1 down in the second half before scoring three times and almost pulling off an incredible comeback.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring – the City striker’s 100th Premier League goal – and Tijjani Reijnders added a second before Phil Foden put the visitors three up.
Emile Smith Rowe pulled a goal back just before the interval, but Foden scored again early in the second half and Sander Berge’s own goal made it 5-1, before Alex Iwobi reduced the deficit and Samuel Chukwueze then scored twice to set up a frenetic finish.
Haaland netted on 17 minutes, blasting past keeper Bernd Leno after Fulham failed to deal with Jeremy Doku’s low ball into the box.
Reijnders then drifted between defenders Calvin Bassey and Joachim Andersen to collect Haaland’s pass and chip in City’s second.
Worse followed for the Whites when Leno punched a corner as far as Foden, who expertly curled the ball home.
Smith Rowe gave Fulham hope with a looping header from Harry Wilson’s cross, but Foden smashed in the visitors’ fourth after being set up by Haaland’s back-heel.
A defensive howler from the Whites led to the fifth City goal. Bassey and Andersen made a hash of clearing their lines and the ball dropped to Doku, whose shot looped up and in off the unfortunate Berge.
Fulham were in danger of being embarrassed but, to their credit, responded in dramatic fashion, with Iwobi scoring with a fine strike after being found by Wilson’s lay-off, and Chukwueze’s first goals for the club hauling them right back into the game.
Chukwueze belted the loose ball into the net after Timothy Castagne’s cross had been cut out by Bernado Silva, and then struck again after Ryan Sessegnon’s corner had been punched towards the winger by keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
And Fulham went so close to equalising in the final moments, when youngster Josh King nudged Kevin’s cross past Donnarumma but was denied by Joško Gvardiol’s goal-line clearance.
Fulham: Leno, Tete (Castagne 46), Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon, Berge, Lukic (Chukwueze 46), Smith Rowe (King 76), Wilson (Kevin 82), Raul (Kusi-Asare 76), Iwobi.
Subs not used: Lecomte, Cuenca, Cairney, Reed.
