City fans have Haaland to thank after the Norwegian spared their blushes against Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester City hosted Fulham at the Etihad on Saturday afternoon, November 5, 2022, in the Premier League.
The Cityzens were aiming to continue from where they left off last weekend when they faced Marco Silva’s Fulham.
The defending champions opened the scoring after dominating the early exchanges with Julian Alvarez finding the back of the net in the 16th minute to give City a 1-0 lead.
However, the visitors soon roared back into the game after a professional foul from Joao Cancelo in the 26th minute.
Referee Darren England issued the Portuguese defender a straight red and the hosts were down to 10 men, with the visitors being awarded a penalty.
Andreas Perreira stepped up in the 28th minute and slotted past Ederson to level matters for Fulham.
Despite City’s attempts to quickly respond to the setback, the visitors were able to hold on until the first period was over with both sides heading into the break one goal apiece.
The second half resumed and Pep Guardiola was forced to make a double change nine minutes after the restart with Erling Haaland coming on for Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden replacing Jack Grealish.
City continued to dominate and create more chances for themselves as Guardiola’s side were desperate to get ahead in the game once more.
The hosts thought they had finally scored again in the 74th minute when second-half substitute found the back of the net after a brilliant pass from Kevin De Bruyne.
However, the Norwegian saw his effort ruled out for offside two minutes later.
The hosts continued even pile more pressure on the visitors as Fulham continued to defend the scoreline up until the 90th-minute when the hosts were gifted a goalscorimg opportunity after De Bruyne was adjudged to have been brought down in the 93rd minute of stoppage time.
Erling Haaland stepped up and was not to be denied a second time as City stole the victory at the death to go top of the Premier League table for the time being, with Arsenal due to face Chelsea in the London derby on Sunday.
Social Media Reactions
Here’s how fans have reacted on social media following City’s hard-fought win over Fulham.
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