Manchester City wrestled control of this absorbing Premier League title race as Julian Alvarez’s stunning first-half winner ensured Pep Guardiola’s side leapfrogged Arsenal at the summit with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Fulham.
Fulham boss Marco Silva had labelled City as ‘clearly the best team in the Premier League’ in the build-up – a clumsy challenge from Tim Ream inside 80 seconds afforded Erling Haaland the chance to bring up a half century of goals this season.
Bernd Leno barely blinked before his spot-kick was dispatched but Carlos Vinicius levelled against the run of play in the 15th minute at Craven Cottage.
Fulham grew into the game but Alvarez, starting in place of the injured Kevin De Bruyne, restored City’s lead before the break with a stunning strike in the 36th minute.
If City are to prevail in their quest for this historic treble, they will be required to overcome awkward assignments such as these with Fulham seeing two penalty claims turned down during a fractious second period.
At the final whistle, there was relief for Pep Guardiola as he shared a prolonged hug with Haaland. The result means City move a point above Arsenal at the top for the first time since February, with a game in hand against West Ham on Wednesday while Fulham remain in 10th place on 45 points.