By SCM Sports Correspondent
CRAVEN COTTAGE, LONDON – In a match that belonged in the history books and very nearly the asylum, Manchester City somehow survived a spectacular second-half meltdown to stagger out of Craven Cottage with a ludicrous 5-4 victory over a ferocious Fulham side.
The grand old ground on the banks of the Thames, usually known for its picturesque charm, was transformed into a screaming, heaving cauldron of chaos as a game that looked done and dusted by half-time ended with City clinging on for dear life.
For 54 minutes, it was business as usual for Pep Guardiola’s titans, showcasing the cold, clinical efficiency that Craven Cottage has rarely witnessed from an away team.
The highlights came thick and fast: Erling Haaland smashed home his 100th Premier League goal—the fastest man ever to hit the century mark—and Phil Foden bagged an effortless brace.
When a Sander Berge own-goal made it 5-1 early in the second half, the famous old Riverside Stand might as well have packed up and gone home.
But the atmosphere at the Cottage is built on hope and history, and the home faithful were not ready to surrender their picturesque patch of SW6 to a City cakewalk.
The noise levels, which had been low and resigned, suddenly erupted when Alex Iwobi thumped in a magnificent 22-yard strike. That goal changed everything. The 27,000-strong crowd, suddenly sensing blood, turned the venerable stadium into a genuine bear pit.
Substitute Samuel Chukwueze was the man to truly set the place alight.
His stunning 72nd-minute strike made it 5-3, and just six minutes later, his second goal—a rocket into the bottom corner—saw the score at an unbelievable 5-4.
The noise was deafening. The quaint, tight stands of Craven Cottage, where the fans are practically breathing down the necks of the players, amplified the panic gripping the City defence.
Every pass was booed, every clearance was cheered like a goal. The historic wooden Cottage itself, perched between the stands, must have been shaking on its foundations.
In the dying seconds, with eight minutes of stoppage time dragging on like an eternity, Fulham’s comeback nearly achieved the impossible.
A goal-bound shot from Josh King was cleared off the line by a desperate Josko Gvardiol, the final, frantic act of a true football epic.
City won, but they were battered, bruised, and utterly rattled by the fierce spirit of the Cottage comeback. Craven Cottage, you were magnificent.
