Man City Manchester City Hold Off Stubborn Fulham, Trail Arsenal by Two

December 3, 2025 - Manchester City survived a wild nine-goal thriller at Craven Cottage, edging Fulham 5–4 in a match that tested every ounce of their resilience and tightened the Premier League title race. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s side to within two points of league leaders Arsenal, keeping the pressure firmly on Mikel Arteta’s men.

City exploded into life early when Erling Haaland smashed in a clinical finish in the 17th minute, making Premier League history by becoming the fastest player ever to reach 100 league goals, achieving the milestone in just 111 games. The visitors looked in full control when Tijjani Reijnders guided home a composed second in the 37th minute, before Phil Foden added a third with a sharp left-footed strike just before halftime.

But Fulham refused to fold. Emile Smith Rowe powered in a header moments before the break, signalling the fight to come. Foden restored City’s cushion early in the second half with his second of the evening, and a deflected ball off Sander Berge made it 5–1, seemingly sealing the contest.

What followed was a furious Fulham surge. Alex Iwobi sparked the comeback with a cool finish in the 57th minute, before Samuel Chukwueze stunned City with two fierce goals in quick succession, pulling the score back to 5–4 and turning the final 15 minutes into pure chaos. Fulham nearly completed an extraordinary comeback, but Joško Gvardiol produced a last-ditch goal-line clearance in stoppage time, preserving City’s slender lead.