The reigning champions took some time to get going, but Julian Alvarez ultimately put his team ahead. Tim Ream quickly leveled the score, but City would end the first half ahead when Nathan Ake headed in a goal just before the halftime siren.
On the hour mark, Erling Haaland joined in the fun. Ten minutes later, he added a second goal from the penalty spot to seal the victory and then slammed home a third goal in stoppage time.
City has won four straight games and maintains its lead over Fulham in the standings.
How the game went
With Fulham being obviously cautious and City shockingly sloppy in control, the game started off cagey (or boring).
Fulham was at ease for the first 25 minutes, unlike the spectators roasting in the Manchester sun, but they did have a warning when Phil Foden went in behind and volleyed a cross straight across the six-yard box in the direction of Haaland, who was a few yards away from making contact.
With his frantic dash into the box and the subsequent cut-back that once again missed its enormous Norwegian target, Foden appeared to be the threat.
Alvarez’s tap-in from six yards following a square-ball from Haaland was the game’s opening shot, which was taken after 31 minutes had elapsed.
Fulham immediately rushed up the other end to equalize after the floodgates had been opened, and Ream was there to collect the leftovers after Raul Jimenez’s shot had been parried into his path.
But City would ultimately get the last laugh in the first half when Ake headed in from a corner and outlasted a nervous VAR probe that infamously determined that Manuel Akanji’s offside position had no bearing on the play. Before being led down the tunnel at halftime, the Fulham players shouted their objections for a long period.
Just before the hour mark, Haaland entered the game for the first time when he capitalized on a Ream error to send the ball directly into the back of the net and give City some breathing room.
Clearly more at ease, City was given the opportunity to score a fourth when Alvarez was brought to the ground by Issa Diop, and Haaland converted perfectly from 12 yards.
The goal knocked the wind out of Fulham’s sails, and Haaland would be jubilant once more as he received a pass from Sergio Gomez and scored the game’s winning goal.
Man City player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Ederson – 5/10 – Perhaps should have done a little better for Fulham’s opener. Wasn’t involved a whole lot outside of that.
RB: Kyle Walker – 6/10 – Nothing special but not a whole lot wrong. Dealt with De Cordova-Reid well enough.
CB: Ruben Dias – 7/10 – Very solid defensively aside from his decision to drag Harry Wilson down by his throat. Fortunate to stay on the pitch but made the most of his continuation.
CB: Manuel Akanji – 6/10 – Akanji’s unpunished offside will be the talking point from this game but he did well enough either side of that moment of controversy.
LB: Nathan Ake – 7/10 – Took his header very well in what was a typically impressive showing from Ake.
DM: Rodri – 6/10 – Not at his best on the ball. Guilty of some sloppy passes but coupled that with some excellent moments of possession. Loves a cynical foul.
DM: Mateo Kovacic – 5/10 – Looked uncomfortable in what ended up being an advanced role. Surprisingly poor with his passing.
RM: Phil Foden – 7/10 – City’s danger man in the first half. Foden looked a threat whenever he got on the ball and was inches away from having a handful of assists.
AM: Julian Alvarez – 7/10 – Nice composure for his simple goal. Struggled to link things up in the first half but created Haaland’s first and won the penalty for his second.
LM: Jeremy Doku – 6/10 – Not involved as much as he would have hoped for his debut. Some real flashes of quality when he did get going, however.
ST: Erling Haaland – 8/10 – A smart assist and three solid goals. It wasn’t even Haaland’s best performance but you can’t argue with the results.
Substitutes
SUB: Bernardo Silva (76′ for Rodri) – 6/10
SUB: Sergio Gomez (76′ for Doku) – 6/10
SUB: Kalvin Phillips (84′ for Kovacic) – N/A
SUB: Rico Lewis (90′ for Alvarez) – N/A
SUB: Oscar Bobb (90′ for Foden) – N/A
Manager
Juan Manuel Lillo – 6/10 – In place of the recovering Pep Guardiola, Lillo’s City side were far from their best but their relentless quality in attack carried them over the line.