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Manchester City secured a comfortable 5-1 win over Fulham at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday, September 2.
The Cityzens entered this game on the back of a perfect start to their campaign, winning all three of their opening fixtures. Their last outing was a strangely close 2-1 win over Sheffield United away from home. With a long season ahead, Pep Guardiola named a strong lineup as he handed new boy Jeremy Doku his debut.
The Cottagers, on the other hand, put in a spirited performance in a 2-2 draw away to Arsenal and came away with a point despite being down to 10 men. Star midfielder Joao Palhinha's collapsed move to Bayern Munich meant he was left out of the squad as Marco Silva named a slightly different lineup.
The first half was an interesting affair in which Fulham went toe-to-toe with Manchester City for the better part. The hosts played well and grabbed the lead at the half-hour mark, as Julian Alvarez opened the scoring following an assist from Erling Haaland. However, the visitors' defender Tim Ream leveled the game just two minutes later.
Nathan Ake then restored Manchester City's lead under controversial circumstances as Manuel Akanji was in an offside position. Much to everyone's surprise, the goal stood and the hosts carried a 2-1 lead into the break.
Erling Haaland took matters into his own hands for the second half as he scored a 12-minute brace to put the game well beyond Fulham's reach. His first was a lucky break which he finished off with ease to make it 3-1 after 58 minutes. Alvarez then won a penalty which the Norwegian converted to make it 4-1 after 70 minutes.
Both managers turned to their respective benches as they looked to take a conservative approach towards the end of the game. Haaland was left on the pitch by Pep Guardiola and he repaid the faith by completing his hat-trick late in the game as Manchester City secured a resounding 5-1 win.
On that note, let's take a look at the five major talking points from the game.
#5. Manchester City and Fulham scored within minutes of one another
The first half saw both teams put up identical numbers in terms of attempts, despite City keeping the ball for 60% of the time compared to Fulham's 40. Both sides attempted three shots, with two on target, and also ended up scoring within minutes of each other.
Erling Haaland set up Julian Alvarez for Manchester City's opener after 31 minutes, but were pegged back almost instantly. Tim Ream equalized for the visitors just two minutes later to make it 1-1.
Despite lining up without Palhinha, Fulham looked composed and organized for most of the first period.
#4. City scored a highly-controversial goal before the HT break
Having been shocked by Fulham's equalizer just moments after grabbing the lead, Manchester City were desperate to regain control over proceedings. They pushed men forward and showed greater urgency to try and restore their advantage before the half-time interval would affect their momentum.
However, the defending champions put together a move and scored with virtually the last move of the first period. Phil Foden provided an assist as Nathan Ake tucked the ball into the back of the net.
Replays showed Manuel Akanji trying to get a foot to the ball from an offside position, though, and many away fans and players were livid the goal stood. Once again, the referees failed to make a competent decision despite having state-of-the-art technology.
#3. Haaland finally comes to the party with a hat-trick
Having endured a relatively slow start to this campaign compared to the last, Haaland got on the scoresheet twice tonight, along with an assist for Alvarez.
The Norwegian's first goal was a typical quick break from Manchester City as Alvarez tried to play him through on goal. The ball took a lucky deflection off a Fulham player before falling kindly into Erling Haaland's path, who finished it off to make it 3-1 after 58 minutes.
Alvarez then won a penalty just 11 minutes later, which Haaland stepped up and converted to make it 4-1 after 70 minutes. He then converted a late chance to complete his hat-trick and secure a resounding 5-1 win for City.
#2. Fulham gradually faded away as both managers made substitutions
Going into half-time down just 2-1, Marco Silva and his Cottagers fostered some hope that they could get back into the game. However, any iota of hope was erased as Haaland's brace put the game well beyond the visitors' reach in the second half.
Both managers then made multiple changes as the managers looked to manage the workload on their players. This allowed an already comfortable and well-drilled City lineup to defend better with fresh legs, making it near impossible for Fulham to even grab another consolation goal.
#1. Erling Haaland the fastest to reach 50 goal contributions in Premier League history
Erling Haaland had a dream debut season for Manchester City last year on both the team and individuals levels. He won the coveted treble aged just 22, whilst also finishing with the Premier League Golden Boot.
So far this season, he has made a relatively slow start to the campaign, but came into his own tonight with a brace and an assist. His contributions have now made it 50 goals and assists in just 39 appearances, the fastest in Premier League history.
