Manchester City survived a breathtaking nine-goal thriller at Craven Cottage, showcasing their explosive attacking power while exposing defensive issues that continue to concern manager Pep Guardiola.
City seemed to be cruising after racing to a 5-1 lead early in the second half, powered by Erling Haaland’s milestone moment, a Phil Foden brace, Tijjani Reijnders’ strike, and an unfortunate own goal from Sander Berge. On another day, such dominance would have sent a strong warning to their Premier League title challengers.
Instead, City’s defensive collapse did the opposite.
Man City Shine in Attack but Fall Apart at the Back
Fulham launched a dramatic comeback inspired by substitute Samuel Chukwueze, scoring three goals to pull the match back to 5-4. The hosts even saw a late effort cleared off the line in stoppage time, nearly completing one of the most remarkable comebacks in Premier League history.
City, who moments earlier looked capable of scoring at will, suddenly found themselves desperately hanging on.
Haaland, who became the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League goals in just 111 games, admitted he saw the momentum shift instantly.
“I was close to scoring and then suddenly it was 5-3. That’s football — that’s why we love it,” Haaland said.
The Norwegian’s landmark moment, coupled with two assists, should have been the headline. Instead, City’s shaky backline stole the spotlight.
Guardiola even joked about the stress after the match:
“I’m so old, and the players don’t respect me! They shouldn’t treat their manager like this,” he laughed.
Despite the chaos, City’s narrow win keeps them two points behind Arsenal — a gap that could increase if the Gunners beat Brentford on Wednesday.
A Wild Match Full of Historic Numbers
The dramatic contest produced several eye-catching statistics:
- Fulham played their first top-flight match with nine or more goals since 1968.
- This was City’s 41st five-goal performance under Guardiola in the Premier League.
- It was City’s first league win while conceding four goals since 1957.
- Only Manchester United have featured in more nine-goal Premier League matches than City.
The match will undoubtedly go down as one of the season’s most chaotic encounters.
Should Man City Fans Be Worried?
While City’s attack remains among the most lethal in Europe, their defensive fragility is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Manchester City have conceded 16 goals in 14 Premier League games — more than double Arsenal’s tally this season. Historically, City do not concede this many goals so early in a title-winning campaign.
Former striker Clinton Morrison didn’t hold back in his assessment:
“You can’t expect to win the Premier League defending like that. City must improve.”
He added that Arsenal would never allow a 5-1 lead to shrink to a single goal in the dying minutes.
Guardiola Accepts the Concerns — But Sees a Silver Lining
City have conceded 10 goals in their past four matches, a sharp contrast to the three goals conceded in the four games before that. Guardiola believes the issues can still be fixed — and may even serve as a wake-up call.
“Of course I was concerned,” Guardiola admitted. “But this will help us improve. Some players are new to these situations, and there’s a learning process.”
The City boss highlighted the positives too:
- Five goals away from home
- A dominant first-half performance
- The character shown to survive late pressure
“In the end, it came down to resilience,” he said. “We did what needed to be done.”
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