Erling Haaland moved joint-fourth on Manchester City’s all-time scoring list as Pep Guardiola’s side brushed aside Fulham 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium, trimming Arsenal’s Premier League lead to three points.
Haaland struck his 153rd goal for City, drawing level with club legend Colin Bell, in a dominant first-half display that also saw Antoine Semenyo and Nico O’Reilly find the net.
All three goals came before the interval, allowing Guardiola to rest his star striker for the second half in a contest played under persistent rain.
The Norwegian, who had ended his recent dip in form with a decisive penalty against Liverpool on Sunday, was clinical once again, firing home his 29th goal of the season in all competitions. Remarkably, he reached Bell’s tally in just 183 appearances, compared to the 492 games it took the former midfielder.
City’s opener arrived after 24 minutes when Matheus Nunes delivered a cross from the right, Haaland headed down, and Semenyo slid in to beat Bernd Leno.
Fulham briefly threatened when Harry Wilson forced a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but City immediately countered, with Semenyo feeding O’Reilly to lift the ball over Leno for the second.
The third came after Fulham surrendered possession again, Rayan Aït-Nouri finding Phil Foden, who set up Haaland to drill a powerful strike into the bottom corner, his first league goal from open play since December.
Fulham, who had pushed City to a 5-4 thriller in the reverse fixture at Craven Cottage, offered little resistance this time. Despite a lively spell from Wilson after the break, the visitors failed to build momentum as City eased off with the points secured.
The result heaps pressure on Arsenal, whose lead at the top of the table has now been reduced to three points ahead of their clash with Brentford.
