ERLING HAALAND BROUGHT up his century of Premier League goals as Manchester City survived a remarkable Fulham comeback in a madcap 5-4 win.
City were 5-1 up and cruising shortly after half-time, but goals from Alex Iwobi and substitute Samuel Chukwueze’s double left them clinging on for dear life by the end.
They are now two points behind leaders Arsenal, who host Brentford on Wednesday, but a title tilt is surely not sustainable with defending like this.
Haaland had earlier become, by some distance, the quickest player to score 100 times in the Premier League, taking just 111 matches.
He took only 17 minutes to find the net at Craven Cottage and become the 35th member of the Premier League 100 club.
Alan Shearer was the previous quickest, reaching three figures in his 124th match, 30 years ago in 1995.
The Norwegian had already rattled a post when his big moment arrived.
Phil Foden found Jeremy Doku who drove in a low cross, Tijjani Reijnders let the ball run and Haaland slammed it first time into the roof of the net.
Yet it was a milestone that got lost in the mayhem of what was to follow.
Fulham almost forced a shock equaliser midway through the first half when Iwobi fed Emile Smith Rowe, who turned sharply in the box and forced a fine save from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
But City doubled their lead in the 38th minute, with Haaland this time the creator.
The striker held off Joachim Andersen on halfway and played a neat through-ball between Kenny Tete and Calvin Bassey, with Reijnders lifting his shot over Bernd Leno.
Advertisement
Foden got in on the act two minutes before half-time, the England midfielder collecting a punch from Leno on the edge of the box and unleashing a rocket into the top corner.
Smith Rowe pulled one back in first-half stoppage time with a well-taken header from Harry Wilson’s cross.
Any thoughts of a Fulham comeback should have been extinguished three minutes into the second half when Haaland touched another Doku cross to Foden, who finished clinically at the far post for his fourth goal in two matches.
City’s fifth arrived six minutes later, Doku’s shot clipping Sander Berge’s knee and looping over Leno.
There was still little sense of jeopardy for the visitors when Iwobi pulled another one back for Fulham, curling home from 20 yards.
That was until substitute Chukwueze lashed in his first Fulham goals, two in the space of six minutes.
When his second flew past an increasingly shell-shocked Donnarumma there were still 12 minutes left, plus eight of stoppage time.
Marco Silva’s side threw everything at City, but just when another sub, Josh King, thought he had grabbed an equaliser and the unlikeliest of points, Josko Gvardiol got back to clear his shot off the line.
Jack Grealish celebrates after scoring for Everton. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Meanwhile, Jack Grealish’s late second-half goal was enough to lead Everton to a third win in four Premier League games as the Toffees beat stuttering Bournemouth 1-0.
Grealish’s deflected 78th-minute strike, his second in Everton colours, fired David Moyes’ side to their first victory at the Vitality Stadium since 2016.
Bournemouth, who had taken only one point from their previous four games, named their youngest ever Premier League team.
Everton boss Moyes made just one change from Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at home to Newcastle as midfielder Carlos Alcaraz replaced centre-back Michael Keane.
The most exciting moment in the first 20 minutes came when Grealish and Bournemouth full-back Alex Jimenez, making a rare start, got into a verbal spat by the corner flag.
Everton midfielder Tim Iroegbunam’s wayward 20-yard shot skied over the crossbar summed up the lack of quality on display.
The first time either goalkeeper was called into action was when Jordan Pickford parried away Bournemouth captain Antoine Semenyo’s toe-poke from 12 yards after a superb Amine Adli pass.
The incident did spark a VAR check for a potential handball against Everton and Republic of Ireland defender Jake O’Brien, but common sense prevailed and the decision was no penalty.
Everton almost took the lead three minutes before half-time when Alex Scott headed James Garner’s dangerous in-swinging corner off the top of his own crossbar.
Home goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic then had to take evasive action to punch Garner’s follow-up corner away from the goal line.
Bournemouth did have the ball in the net in first-half stoppage time when Eli Junior Kroupi tucked home at the near post but was clearly in an offside position when he latched on to Adli’s flick from Jimenez’s low cross.
Petrovic denied Everton what looked a certain opener early in the second half when he spread himself and somehow kept out Thierno Barry’s close-range effort after Alcaraz’s lovely through ball had parted the home defence.
Alcaraz then had a shot blocked by Veljko Milosavljevic after being teed up by Barry’s clever back-heel.
Bournemouth were unusually subdued as an attacking force, summed up by the below par Semenyo’s tame effort straight at Pickford.
In the 64th minute Everton failed to properly deal with a corner, but defender Milosavljevic could not keep his header down from Justin Kluivert’s floated cross.
The Toffees were the better team throughout and finally got the goal they deserved with 12 minutes remaining.
The lively Alcaraz played in Grealish down the left and the Manchester City loanee cut in and unleashed a right-footed shot that deflected into the bottom left corner off Bafode Diakite.
Iliman Ndiaye was close to making it 2-0 minutes later when his fierce strike from just outside the box was beaten away by Petrovic, but one goal was enough for the visitors.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
9 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Haaland makes Premier League history in nine-goal thriller, as Grealish delivers for Everton
Premier League Results
****
ERLING HAALAND BROUGHT up his century of Premier League goals as Manchester City survived a remarkable Fulham comeback in a madcap 5-4 win.
City were 5-1 up and cruising shortly after half-time, but goals from Alex Iwobi and substitute Samuel Chukwueze’s double left them clinging on for dear life by the end.
They are now two points behind leaders Arsenal, who host Brentford on Wednesday, but a title tilt is surely not sustainable with defending like this.
Haaland had earlier become, by some distance, the quickest player to score 100 times in the Premier League, taking just 111 matches.
He took only 17 minutes to find the net at Craven Cottage and become the 35th member of the Premier League 100 club.
Alan Shearer was the previous quickest, reaching three figures in his 124th match, 30 years ago in 1995.
The Norwegian had already rattled a post when his big moment arrived.
Phil Foden found Jeremy Doku who drove in a low cross, Tijjani Reijnders let the ball run and Haaland slammed it first time into the roof of the net.
Yet it was a milestone that got lost in the mayhem of what was to follow.
Fulham almost forced a shock equaliser midway through the first half when Iwobi fed Emile Smith Rowe, who turned sharply in the box and forced a fine save from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
But City doubled their lead in the 38th minute, with Haaland this time the creator.
The striker held off Joachim Andersen on halfway and played a neat through-ball between Kenny Tete and Calvin Bassey, with Reijnders lifting his shot over Bernd Leno.
Foden got in on the act two minutes before half-time, the England midfielder collecting a punch from Leno on the edge of the box and unleashing a rocket into the top corner.
Smith Rowe pulled one back in first-half stoppage time with a well-taken header from Harry Wilson’s cross.
Any thoughts of a Fulham comeback should have been extinguished three minutes into the second half when Haaland touched another Doku cross to Foden, who finished clinically at the far post for his fourth goal in two matches.
City’s fifth arrived six minutes later, Doku’s shot clipping Sander Berge’s knee and looping over Leno.
There was still little sense of jeopardy for the visitors when Iwobi pulled another one back for Fulham, curling home from 20 yards.
That was until substitute Chukwueze lashed in his first Fulham goals, two in the space of six minutes.
When his second flew past an increasingly shell-shocked Donnarumma there were still 12 minutes left, plus eight of stoppage time.
Marco Silva’s side threw everything at City, but just when another sub, Josh King, thought he had grabbed an equaliser and the unlikeliest of points, Josko Gvardiol got back to clear his shot off the line.
Meanwhile, Jack Grealish’s late second-half goal was enough to lead Everton to a third win in four Premier League games as the Toffees beat stuttering Bournemouth 1-0.
Grealish’s deflected 78th-minute strike, his second in Everton colours, fired David Moyes’ side to their first victory at the Vitality Stadium since 2016.
Bournemouth, who had taken only one point from their previous four games, named their youngest ever Premier League team.
Everton boss Moyes made just one change from Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at home to Newcastle as midfielder Carlos Alcaraz replaced centre-back Michael Keane.
The most exciting moment in the first 20 minutes came when Grealish and Bournemouth full-back Alex Jimenez, making a rare start, got into a verbal spat by the corner flag.
Everton midfielder Tim Iroegbunam’s wayward 20-yard shot skied over the crossbar summed up the lack of quality on display.
The first time either goalkeeper was called into action was when Jordan Pickford parried away Bournemouth captain Antoine Semenyo’s toe-poke from 12 yards after a superb Amine Adli pass.
The incident did spark a VAR check for a potential handball against Everton and Republic of Ireland defender Jake O’Brien, but common sense prevailed and the decision was no penalty.
Everton almost took the lead three minutes before half-time when Alex Scott headed James Garner’s dangerous in-swinging corner off the top of his own crossbar.
Home goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic then had to take evasive action to punch Garner’s follow-up corner away from the goal line.
Bournemouth did have the ball in the net in first-half stoppage time when Eli Junior Kroupi tucked home at the near post but was clearly in an offside position when he latched on to Adli’s flick from Jimenez’s low cross.
Petrovic denied Everton what looked a certain opener early in the second half when he spread himself and somehow kept out Thierno Barry’s close-range effort after Alcaraz’s lovely through ball had parted the home defence.
Alcaraz then had a shot blocked by Veljko Milosavljevic after being teed up by Barry’s clever back-heel.
Bournemouth were unusually subdued as an attacking force, summed up by the below par Semenyo’s tame effort straight at Pickford.
In the 64th minute Everton failed to properly deal with a corner, but defender Milosavljevic could not keep his header down from Justin Kluivert’s floated cross.
The Toffees were the better team throughout and finally got the goal they deserved with 12 minutes remaining.
The lively Alcaraz played in Grealish down the left and the Manchester City loanee cut in and unleashed a right-footed shot that deflected into the bottom left corner off Bafode Diakite.
Iliman Ndiaye was close to making it 2-0 minutes later when his fierce strike from just outside the box was beaten away by Petrovic, but one goal was enough for the visitors.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Bournemouth Everton Fulham Man City Premier League Results Soccer