Fulham almost produced all-time-great comeback but ultimately fell short. Still, re-live an instant classic with the best facts and Opta data in our Fulham vs Man City stats page.
Erling Haaland’s record-breaking 100th Premier League goal was followed by a veritable avalanche of goals as Manchester City ultimately scraped a 5-4 win over Fulham in an astonishing match at Craven Cottage on Tuesday.
City looked in the mood for most of the first hour, finding themselves 5-1 up at one point, and they opened the scoring with 17 minutes played as Haaland ended his mini drought to reach his century.
He hit that landmark in his 111th match, meaning he became the fastest to 100 Premier League goals, getting there in 13 fewer outings than Alan Shearer.
It looked as though that would be the only major talking point beyond City’s dominance, as they appeared to be making light work of their hosts, even accounting for a couple of Fulham goals. But Marco Silva’s men would not go away.
Samuel Chukwueze scored twice off the bench to force a tense finale for City, with Fulham coming within touching distance of one of the greatest comebacks in Premier League history.
Pep Guardiola’s side did eventually get the job done, but the manner of their near-collapse in what was ultimately one of the highest-scoring Premier League games ever will be a major cause for concern.
Fulham vs Man City xG race
Haaland had already hit the post after being put through on goal before opening the scoring on the night.
He buried the tougher of the two chances, picking out the top-left corner with an emphatic finish in the box following Jérémy Doku’s inch-perfect low cross.
And that saw him finally become a centurion after a minor barren spell that saw him miss a penalty against Liverpool and fire blanks vs Newcastle and Leeds.
Haaland then turned provider 20 minutes later, brilliantly holding off a defender before turning and feeding Tijjani Reijnders with a glorious through ball, making it only the second time the Norwegian had scored and assisted in a Premier league game.
Phil Foden probably thought he put the game beyond Fulham soon after with a gorgeous finish from just outside the box – in fact, that was his seventh league goal from outside the area since the start of 2023-24, a figure no Premier League player has bettered in that time.
But Fulham soon showed a sign of life. Emile Smith RoweEmile Smith Rowe’s fine header reduced the deficit on the stroke of half-time, only for City to be 5-1 up by the 54th minute. There was more than a hint of fortune about their fourth and fifth goals, however.
Doku’s pass inadvertently flicked off Haaland’s heel and fell kindly to Foden who finished from an acute angle for 4-1, before City’s Belgian winger saw an effort deflect in off Sander Berge to make it 5-1.
That made it the earliest Fulham had ever conceded five goals in a Premier League match – but the Cottagers weren’t going to lie down and take it.
Alex Iwobi quickly pulled one back in style with a brilliant first-time strike into the bottom-right corner from 20 yards, before Chukwueze took another bite out of City’s lead with a sweet effort after a cross was helpfully blocked into his path.
The Nigerian, a substitute, then got another to make it 5-4 in the 78th minute, smashing through a body of players when City couldn’t clear a Fulham corner to make this the highest-scoring game Craven Cottage has ever seen in the Premier League.
Fulham piled pressure on towards the end, even having a Josh King effort cleared off the line, but City just about held on to deny the Cottagers an unforgettable fightback.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Fulham vs Man City stats from their Premier League meeting at Craven Cottage.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Fulham vs Man City Stats: Post-Match Facts
Tonight was Fulham’s first top-flight game to see 9+ goals since a 7-2 loss at West Ham in February 1968, and their first at home since a 6-3 loss to Aston Villa in September 1965.
This was the sixth Premier League game involving Manchester City to see at least nine goals scored, with only Manchester United (7) being involved in more.
Manchester City won a league match in which they conceded as many as four goals for the first time since December 1957, and a 5-4 victory against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Fulham lost a home league match while scoring as many as four goals for just the second time in their history, previously going down 4-6 against Leicester City in the second tier in September 1952.
Manchester City have scored 5+ goals in 41 of their 356 Premier League games under Pep Guardiola. It’s as many times as Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal scored 5+ in 828 games, while only Alex Ferguson has seen his sides do so more in the competition (44 in 810 games).
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