Manchester City won 2-1 at Fulham on Sunday to reclaim the Premier League lead for the first time since February.
As the visitors took control early, Erling Haaland converted a third-minute penalty to score his 50th goal of the season, only for Carlos Vinicius to equalize against the run of play with a quarter-hour remaining. On 34 minutes, Julian Alvarez reestablished City’s lead with a superb dipping drive over goalkeeper Bernd Leno from 25 yards, but Fulham fought back in a competitive second half.
The home team thought they should have had a penalty, but referee Simon Hooper was unmoved when Kyle Walker challenged Bobby De Cordova-Reid in the box midway through the second period.
City held on for a crucial victory, moving them to 76 points, one clear of Arsenal and with a game in hand.
The momentum has been with Pep Guardiola‘s team for quite some time, and the Premier League table reflects that. City has led the Premier League for the first time since beating Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on February 15. The psychological impact of that might be significant, especially given that the Gunners were soundly defeated in the opposite fixture the previous week.
The defending champions were not at their best At Craven Cottage. Fulham may feel they should have gained a point after a spirited second-half performance in which Guardiola’s team failed to control the game in their usual manner.
However, Ederson was not called upon to make any significant saves, and their defense held firm to earn a victory that extends their recent record to 13 wins in 14 matches across all competitions—the only blemish was a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich in a Champions League quarterfinal they were already leading 3-0 from the first leg.
They’ve shifted into high gear at precisely the right time and appear to be exceedingly difficult to catch in the final stretch.
