Craven Cottage turned into a full-blown football opera on Tuesday night as Manchester City edged Fulham 5–4 in one of the wildest Premier League clashes of the season.
City looked untouchable in the first half. Erling Haaland fired the opener in the 17th minute, setting the tone before Tijjani Reijnders doubled the lead in the 37th. Phil Foden then delivered a clinical brace — striking just before halftime and again in the 48th minute — stretching City’s advantage and appearing to shut the door on Fulham early.
A bizarre own goal by Sander Berge in the 54th minute pushed the scoreline to 5–0, making it feel like a routine City demolition.
But Fulham refused to lie down.
The momentum flipped when Alex Iwobi smashed in a 57th-minute effort, giving the home fans a spark. Then came the true madness: Samuel Chukwueze stepped off the bench and tore the game open with a stunning brace in the 72nd and 78th minutes, slicing City’s once-comfortable lead down to just one goal.
From that moment, it was waves of white shirts crashing against City’s backline. By the 89th minute, Guardiola’s men were hanging on for dear life as Fulham pushed for an incredible equalizer.
Despite the late storm, City held firm and escaped London with all three points — a result that keeps them firmly in the Premier League title race.
Fulham’s spirited fightback, powered by Iwobi and Chukwueze, will leave them proud but agonizingly short of what could have been a historic comeback.
City substitute Ryan Cherki received the match’s first yellow card deep into stoppage time, shown in the 94th minute of an extended eight added minutes.