Manchester City avoided the mother of all collapses as they held on to beat Fulham in a nine goal thriller in the Premier League.
The Blues were 5-1 up on 54 minutes, with goals from Erling Haaland (his 100th in the Premier League,) Tijjani Reijnders, a Phil Foden brace and a Sander Berge own goal giving City a commanding lead.
Emile Smith-Rowe scored to make it 3-1 at the end of the first half, and despite Foden’s second goal and Berge’s own goal giving City a four goal advantage, Alex Iwobi’s strike and Samuel Chukwueze’s double meant Pep Guardiola’s side were clinging on at the end.
Josh King had the chance to level it for the hosts, but his shot in the final few seconds of injury time was hacked off the line by Josko Gvardiol to give City another three points and close the gap to leaders Arsenal down to five points.
Here are three things we learned from this all time Premier League classic:
The defence needs to improve majorly
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 02: Raul Jimenez of Fulham missed a chance during the Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester City at Craven Cottage on December 02, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 02: Raul Jimenez of Fulham missed a chance during the Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester City at Craven Cottage on December 02, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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The defending throughout the game, but particularly in the second half, was nothing short of abysmal from City.
In possession and going forwards they had a near flawless first 45 minutes, but when Fulham carried the ball forward they seemed to penetrate City’s backline fairly easily.
Smith-Rowe was unmarked and Harry Wilson had all the time in the world to pick the former Arsenal midfielder out in the penalty area from out wide.
The other three of Marco Silva’s side’s goals came from crosses too. Each time, City defended the initial cross successfully (something Guardiola highlighted in his post match interviews) but there was a Fulham player in plenty of space on the outside of the penalty box each time to produce a finish.
Matheus Nunes was twisted inside out at full back firstly by Chukwueze then by Kevin, with Nico O’Reilly not faring that much better on the other side of the pitch to be fair.
Nico Gonzalez looked tired and leggy, but the team was much worse when he came off on 60 minutes at 5-2 up.
Six goals conceded in two games against Fulham and Leeds United unfortunately simply isn’t good enough. City need to improve ahead of a big test against Sunderland on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium.
Bernardo’s leadership is crucial
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 02: Bernardo Silva of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester City at Craven Cottage on December 02, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 02: Bernardo Silva of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester City at Craven Cottage on December 02, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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I get the sense that at the end of the game, Bernardo Silva decided that he was going to do anything within his power to stop Fulham from grabbing an equaliser.
City’s club captain was popping up everywhere; he was getting on the ball, helping out defensively and using his experience and intelligence to see the game out excellently from his perspective.
Rayan Cherki and O’Reilly were also especially good at this (though the less said about Savinho’s ball retention after coming on the better.)
The Blues have themselves a proper leader in Bernardo, who carries the team forward from the front and is so important in important moments like the closing stages at Craven Cottage.
Haaland x Doku x Foden is an unstoppable trio on its day
Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Erling Haaland celebrate their sides fifth goal scored by Jeremy Doku (not pictured) during the Premier League match at Craven Cottage, London. Picture date: Tuesday December 2, 2025. (Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)
Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Erling Haaland celebrate their sides fifth goal scored by Jeremy Doku (not pictured) during the Premier League match at Craven Cottage, London. Picture date: Tuesday December 2, 2025. (Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)
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When all three are at the top of their game, there’s nothing more you could ask for from an attacking trio in Haaland, Foden and Jeremy Doku.
Haaland is a goal scoring machine. His pace, strength and finishing make him the most dangerous centre forward in the world. Against the Cottagers, he opened the scoring with a thumping finish and created the second with a brilliant bit of strong hold up play.
Foden looks back to his best and is an excellent all round attacker. He’s a good finisher from the edge of the box and loves to create in the pockets of space on the edge of the box. He was poor last season but he’s regained his confidence, and naturally his form with that.
And Doku is the best one vs one dribbler in the world. No full back will be comfortable against him when he’s on fire, and this season we’ve seen him produce a final ball much, much more frequently.
The three clicked and all played well against Fulham. Particularly whilst the defence is this shabby, it’s refreshing to see these three linking up well and essentially winning the Blues games by outscoring the opposition.