This was pure Premier League chaos. Manchester City smashed five past Fulham, nearly threw it all away, and somehow turned a routine win into a heart attack.
City went 5 – 1 up at Craven Cottage after 54 minutes and it looked done. Classic City: control, tempo, triangles everywhere.
Erling Haaland, obviously, started it off, becoming the fastest player ever to hit 100 Premier League goals. One hundred. In this league. Against packed boxes, low blocks, aggressive presses it’s unreal.
But then City did the one thing Pep Guardiola hates: they stopped controlling the game.
They dropped too deep, stopped squeezing the pitch, and let Fulham hit those wide zones where City normally suffocate teams.
Samuel Chukwueze came on at half-time and went wild direct dribbling, sharp movement, attacking his full-back with zero fear. Fulham scored three in 21 minutes and suddenly it was 5 – 4, the crowd roaring, every cross feeling like a penalty.
You could almost see Pep’s brain melting on the touchline. This is the same manager who has already torn into his players this season when he felt they played with fear, like in the way he raged at their mentality after the Leverkusen loss that same edge was written all over his face again here.
Guardiola Rages at Fearful City After Leverkusen Loss
For a coach obsessed with structure, those last minutes were torture. City’s lines were too far apart, the defensive block too low, and the game stopped being about patterns and became pure survival. At 5 – 1 you admire the football. At 5 – 4 you just stare at the clock and hope.
Fulham’s reaction was huge Marco Silva’s side showed serious character but he was right to be annoyed with how they let it get away early. Against a Guardiola team, if you’re even half a step slow in your pressing or shape, they don’t just hurt you; they bury you.
When the dust settles, the table will only show three points and another Haaland milestone. But anyone who watched knows this wasn’t just a win.
It was a reminder that even the most “robotic” team in Europe can get dragged into chaos and that’s exactly when this sport becomes completely insane and utterly unforgettable.
