Manchester [United Kingdom], February 12 : Manchester City defeated Fulham 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium in their Premier League fixture on Thursday to cut Arsenal's lead at the top of the table to three points.
Pep Guardiola's side started quickly and took control of the match early on. Antoine Semenyo opened the scoring in the 24th minute, finishing from close range after Matheus Nunes' cross deflected into his path, according to the Premier League website.
City scored their second goal around the half-hour mark. After Gianluigi Donnarumma saved from Harry Wilson, City quickly attacked at the other end. Semenyo passed the ball to Nico O'Reilly, who calmly finished past Fulham's goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
Erling Haaland made it 3-0 before half-time, hitting a low shot into the bottom corner after a pass from Phil Foden.
Although Haaland was substituted at half-time, City remained in control throughout the second half. Fulham threatened occasionally, with Emile Smith Rowe and substitute Rodrigo Muniz forcing saves from Donnarumma, but they never looked capable of making a comeback.
Following a victory against Liverpool earlier and a routine win against Fulham now, Manchester City are once again breathing down Arsenal's necks at the top of the Premier League table.
For Fulham, on the other hand, the defeat extends Fulham's poor record against Manchester City and leaves Marco Silva's side 12th on the Premier League table, with 34 points, after a third consecutive league defeat.
City sit second on the Premier League points table with 53 points to their name. Arsenal, on the other hand, lead with 56 points.
After the match, Pep Guardiola provided an update on Erling Haaland's fitness, saying that the Norwegian footballer was withdrawn at half-time as a precautionary measure.
"Niggles. He didn't feel comfortable. Reason why? Many games. I didn't speak with doctors, I don't know exactly what he has. He said I don't feel comfortable and at 3-0, with Omar and games to come, it was common sense," Guardiola said in his post-match press conference, as quoted by the Manchester City website.