Manchester City injected fresh life into the Premier League title race with a commanding 3-0 victory over Fulham at Etihad Stadium, cutting leaders Arsenal's advantage to just three points. All three goals arrived before half-time in a ruthless 15-minute spell from Antoine Semenyo, Nico O'Reilly and Erling Haaland that effectively decided the contest in the miserable Manchester rain.
Pep Guardiola's side, who had staged a last-gasp comeback at Liverpool on Sunday, backed that up with a far more straightforward success as Fulham suffered a third consecutive defeat. Marco Silva's team did respond after the break and competed more fiercely in the individual duels, but they could not undo the damage of a dismal first half that left Arsenal looking over their shoulders ahead of Thursday's trip to Brentford.
Relentless Opening Turns Up the Heat on Arsenal
Guardiola had challenged his players before kick-off, conceding that City had too rarely produced complete performances this season and promising improvement against Fulham. The response was emphatic, as the hosts raced into a 3-0 lead before the interval and underlined their determination to make it as difficult as possible for Arsenal to claim their first league honours for over 20 years.