Erling Haaland reached another historic milestone on a night that felt surreal at Craven Cottage. Manchester City beat Fulham 5 to 4 in a chaotic match that swung from calm control to late panic, yet the story began with Haaland’s stunning rise into the Premier League’s 100 club. His goal after 17 minutes sealed his place in history and sparked a rollercoaster that no one inside the rain soaked ground will forget.
Pep Guardiola could only shake his head when asked about Haaland’s rapid climb. The City boss called the achievement “insane,” and he did not hide his disbelief at how quickly the Norwegian had reached 100 Premier League goals. Haaland hit the landmark in just 111 matches, which smashed Alan Shearer’s previous record of 124 games set nearly 30 years ago.
Guardiola praised the striker with simple honesty. He said the numbers spoke for themselves and insisted that Haaland now sits among the best forwards to ever play in the league. He also made it clear the team felt pride in helping him reach such a rare moment in Premier League history.
Haaland himself reflected on the milestone with emotion. Speaking to the club’s website, he said he never expected to hit 100 goals this quickly and admitted he would remember this match for the rest of his life. His pride was visible in every word as he recalled the ambition he carried into Manchester when he first arrived.
The match that framed his moment was pure chaos. City raced into a 5 to 1 lead early in the second half with goals from Tijjani Reijnders, Phil Foden, who scored twice, and a deflected Jeremy Doku strike. Fulham had scored through Emile Smith Rowe before the break, but the drama truly arrived in the closing stages.
Alex Iwobi curled in a fine second goal to lift the home crowd. Substitute Samuel Chukwueze then scored twice in quick succession to turn the stadium into a cauldron of noise as City held on. In the final seconds, Josko Gvardiol cleared Josh King’s effort off the line to rescue the champions.
Iwobi summed up Fulham’s night with frustration mixed with pride. He said the team showed real spirit and delivered a show for the fans, even if they did not get the result they wanted.
