The winner came after Kevin De Bruyne brought down Antonee Robinson in a foul that led to the penalty: while the decision looked marginal, it was the inimitable Norwegian’s 23rd goal of the season, which went under the body of Bernd Leno. Haaland, a stoppage-time substitute, looked to be City’s hero early on when he headed in De Bruyne’s cross in the 75th minute. But the No 9 was ruled offside by VAR – rightly so – and Fulham escaped, although Robert Jones was not so lucky as was Pep Guardiola, who, disgruntled before half-time, gave the fourth official a final flea on the ear of for some perceivers. injustice. Julián Álvarez gives Manchester City a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. Photo: Richard Callis/MB Media/Getty Images City were rattled and aggrieved by Joao Cancelo’s first-half sending-off, although the defender can have no complaints about that and referee Darren England’s penalty which looked to see City drop points for the first time time after losing to Liverpool. last month. Guardiola’s frustration at how Cancelo dragged Harry Wilson into the area led to a rebuke to the No7 as the left-back wandered over, Andreas Pereira’s successful spot-kick canceling out Julián Álvarez’s earlier score. All of this came before the break. With 27 minutes remaining and despite being a man down, Guardiola chased the win by bringing on Haaland and Phil Foden. From that point on his side dominated: before the disallowed goal, Haaland missed a golden chance when Ilkay Gundogan’s header was saved by the Norwegian’s right foot only to connect with the air. The hosts, through Gundogan and De Bruyne, continued to push the ball around Fulham in search of the winner – Haaland was a particular threat. De Bruyne dived down the left and lifted a delivery into the sky which had the No 9 launching himself, before Foden did the same when Gundogan cleared the ball to him: each time City were inches away. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. But deep into five added minutes and looking to resent the dismissal that gave Marco Silva’s visitors a lifeline, Haaland struck.
