Manchester City survived one of the wildest matches of the Premier League season, edging a breathtaking 5–4 thriller at Craven Cottage after a furious Fulham fightback that pushed Pep Guardiola’s side to the brink of collapse. City, who once led 5–1 and looked to be cruising, needed a last-ditch, match-saving goal-line clearance from Josko Gvardiol deep into stoppage time to prevent Josh King from completing one of the greatest comebacks the league has ever seen.
In a night packed with chaos, milestones and momentum swings, Erling Haaland reached his 100th Premier League goal— smashing the record in just 111 appearances — as City closed the gap on leaders Arsenal to just two points.
But the night belonged equally to Fulham, who refused to die, scoring three second-half goals and nearly accomplishing the impossible..
City started with ruthless precision.
Haaland opened the scoring with a typically cold, emphatic finish — his 100th league goal, a number Guardiola admitted he never believed possible at such speed.
“If you’d told me 100 in 111 games… in this league? Impossible,” Tijjani Reijnders quickly doubled the lead after weaving through a retreating Fulham defence, and Phil Foden added a third before the break with a crisp strike following a flowing team move.
At 3–0, Fulham looked overwhelmed — until a lifeline arrived seconds before half-time. Emile Smith Rowe, alert to a loose ball, lashed home from close range to spark the first flickers of belief inside Craven Cottage.
Seconds into the second half, City restored their grip as Foden netted his second with a cool left-footed finish, silencing the home surge. And when Jeremy Doku’s deflected effort looped in off Sander Berge for 5–1, the match looked like a procession. Commentators suggested City might “win by seven or eight.” But Fulham had other ideas.
From the moment Alex Iwobi arrowed one into the bottom corner from the edge of the area, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. Fulham sensed City’s fragility — exposed just three days earlier when they blew a two-goal lead against Leeds — and they attacked with ferocity. Samuel Chukwueze, introduced at half-time, produced a thunderous finish for 5–3, igniting belief.
Six minutes later, he struck again — a sensational curler that sent Craven Cottage into uproar.
Play paused for a lengthy six-minute VAR review to check for a possible offside in the build-up, offering both sides a rare breather. But when the goal finally stood, Fulham fans roared as though they had won the match. They had City rattled. They had City hanging on. And they came agonisingly close to completing the impossible.
In the seventh minute of added time, Josh King poked the ball toward goal after a frantic scramble. Craven Cottage held its breath. But Josko Gvardiol, reading the danger, slid back and hooked the ball off the line — millimetres away from 5–5.
It was a title-race-defining clearance, a moment City may look back on in May as the difference between glory and heartbreak.
Seconds later, the whistle blew.
City survived.
What a night, Man City close to within two points of Arsenal, who face Brentford on Wednesday. Haaland joins the Premier League’s 100-goal club at unprecedented speed. Fulham remain mid-table but earned admiration across the league for their revival.
City left west London relieved, battered, and still alive in the title fight. Fulham left to applause — not for points, but for a comeback that nearly shocked the world.
