An early penalty awarded to City just two minutes into the match provided Erling Haaland with the opportunity to score his 50th goal of the season in all competitions which he successfully completed.
Julian Alvarez’s stunning long-range goal which came 21 minutes after Carlos Vinicius’s first-half equaliser helped City secure all three points.
And there were numerous statistics that highlighted City’s consistency and positive form as we tallied our eighth consecutive league win…
50 for Haaland
In his debut season with City, Erling Haaland has continued to break records and the win over Fulham was no different. His penalty in the second minute brought up his 50th goal of the campaign in all competitions.
He achieved the milestone in 44 games, scoring 34 in the Premier League, 12 in the Champions League, three in the FA Cup and one in the Carabao Cup.
Included within his numerous achievements, Haaland became the first player to score hat-tricks in three consecutive home matches and he also holds the record for most goals for City across a single campaign, beating Tommy Johnson’s previous record of 38.
11 in a row
Sunday’s victory represented our 11th consecutive Premier League win over Fulham, a streak that began with a 3-0 triumph at the Etihad Stadium in the 2011/12 season.
In those matches, we have scored 30 goals and conceded just five.
Included in that run was our 5-0 thrashing of Fulham in the 2013/14 season where Yaya Toure scored his first league hat-trick for City.
Those three points proved pivotal in City securing our second Premier League title in three years.
The difference maker
Julian Alvarez was in fine form on Sunday and provided an attacking threat Fulham struggled to contain.
The Argentine World Cup winner won City the early penalty, that Haaland converted in the second minute, after Tim Ream’s extended leg knocked Alvarez off the ball.
The striker then scored City’s second of the match. His long-ranged curling effort was too far out of reach for Bernd Leno and sent the away end into a frenzy of celebrations.
Alvarez’s winner against Fulham was his 15th goal across all competitions, in what has been a fantastic first season at City for the 23-year-old.
SPECIAL K
Kyle Walker’s recent return to the starting XI has been an impressive one. The 32-year-old was a key figure on the right-hand side of the pitch at Craven Cottage, tallying 124 touches and 103 passes – the highest for both out of the whole City team.
And his role at fullback saw him produce another top-quality performance as City’s defensive line were relied upon a number of times to deny Fulham a second equaliser of the match.
Check out his movement in the heat map below.
