Manchester City 3-0 Fulham: Haaland and Semenyo Fire City Within Three Points of Arsenal

Manchester City swept Fulham aside with a commanding 3-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium, cutting the gap at the top of the Premier League table to just three points.

City set the tone early. Bernardo Silva slipped a beautifully weighted pass through to Matheus Nunes, who fizzed the ball into Phil Foden inside the penalty area. Foden spun cleverly past his marker and got his shot away, but Bernd Leno was equal to it with a comfortable save.

The pressure soon told. When Nunes’ dangerous cross wasn’t properly cleared, Antoine Semenyo reacted quickest inside the box, keeping his composure to fire home and break the deadlock.

Fulham gradually eased into the contest despite the early setback and soon found themselves on a promising 2v2 counter-attack led by Harry Wilson. However, the Welshman failed to capitalise, his effort proving a routine stop for Gianluigi Donnarumma.

City continued to push forward with intent, exploiting the spaces Fulham left behind.

Semenyo surged down the wing once more and picked out O’Rielly’s run into the area, where he calmly lifted the ball over Leno to double the advantage.

Semenyo now has seven goal contributions in his last eight appearances for the Citizens, underlining his growing importance in Guardiola’s system.

Erling Haaland effectively wrapped up the contest before half-time, unleashing a low, driven effort from outside the box into the bottom-right corner.

The strike took the Norwegian to 42 goals in 42 appearances for club and country a remarkable return that continues to define City’s attacking threat.

At the start of the second half, Haaland was replaced by Omar Marmoush. It remains unclear whether the substitution was precautionary or fitness-related, but City showed no signs of slowing down.

Foden again tested Leno from distance, only for the Fulham goalkeeper to gather comfortably, while Rodrigo Muniz’s speculative effort at the other end never truly threatened Donnarumma.

The match gradually drifted into a controlled and routine victory for Manchester City, with Fulham struggling to create sustained pressure or clear-cut chances.

It is now three consecutive Premier League wins for Pep Guardiola’s side, and their form appears to be peaking at a crucial stage of the title race. City sit just three points behind league leaders Arsenal, who face Brentford next, keeping the pressure firmly applied at the summit.

For Fulham, the defeat marks just one win in their last five league matches, as Marco Silva’s side continue to search for consistency in the second half of the campaign.