Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, marked his return to action in one of the most emphatic ways, after netting a dramatic winner in their 2-1 victory over Fulham FC at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Haaland who was making a return from a two-week injury layoff, continued where left off finding the back of the net.
The 22-year-old scored his 18th league goal of the season in the 95th minute to settle an intense game in the most dramatic of fashions.
Haaland’s goal comes after Andreas Pereira’s 28thminute penalty conversion for Fulham canceled Julian Alvarez 16th minute opener to level the encounter in what was setting up to be a frustrating evening in Manchester.
That goal would have felt like insult to injury following the 26th sending off of City’s Joa Cancelo who picked up a straight red card for his tackle inside the box which resulted in the penalty and subsequent goal.
While the 10-man Man City were still able to fend off Fulham and retain a fair amount of pressure they however had difficulties in creating clear-cut chances on goal.
That change significantly following a double substitution by Pep Guardiola which the introduction of Haaland and strike partner Phil Foden, in the 63rd minute to replace Alavaro and Jack Grealish.
Despite the renewed vigor by the host team, the numerical player disadvantage remained a significant factor against a seemingly composed Fulham.
With the game running into added time, a draw seemed the destined result for the title holders, until the 95th minute where Haaland’s quality came to the fore.
The striker verified what has become the inevitable in his career, after slotting home the winner to chalk his 18th goal in just 13 league games.
The win pushes City to the summit of the standings with 33 points as they overtake Arsenal [31 points ] who has a game in hand.
