By Rasheed Adewuyi, New York
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland etched his name into Premier League history by becoming the fastest player to reach 100 goals, achieving the milestone in just 111 appearances during a dramatic 5–4 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Tuesday. Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute, converting a cross from Jérémy Doku to set City on course for what appeared to be a comfortable win. Further goals from Tijjani Reijnders—assisted by Haaland—and a brace by Phil Foden extended the lead to 5–1 early in the second half.
However, Fulham mounted a spirited comeback. Emile Smith Rowe pulled one back before halftime with a header assisted by Harry Wilson, followed by a stunning long-range effort from Alex Iwobi in the 57th minute. Substitute Samuel Chukwueze then netted twice in quick succession, reducing the deficit to a single goal with the score at 5–4.
Despite Fulham’s late surge, City held on, with a crucial goal-line clearance by Josko Gvardiol in stoppage time preserving their lead. The victory moves City within two points of league leaders Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
Haaland, speaking with journalists after the Citizens defeated Fulham 5-4 in one of the Premier League match day 14 games at Craven Cottage in London on Tuesday, said he is aware of the record but doesn’t like to think too much about it. The Norwegian striker disclosed that it was a massive achievement to score his 100th goal for the club in the nine-goal thriller. “Every game is a different game, you can’t think of the game that’s been. You need to focus on what’s ahead. The reality is we lost against Newcastle and Leverkusen but now we have two in a row and we have to keep going. It’s a tough schedule. Many games now in the next month. Game by game and recover for the next one,” he said.
When asked about City closing the gap on Arsenal, he added, “It is important, Arsenal came here and won here. Fulham are a great team but we shouldn’t think too much about Arsenal. We should focus on ourselves, today wasn’t good enough and we know this. We need to improve as a team and that’s what we’ll do.” As City continues their pursuit of the Premier League title, Haaland’s historic milestone and the team’s resilience in high-pressure situations underscore their championship credentials.