Fastest Ever to 100″ – Haaland Rewrites Premier League History in Nine-Goal Chaos
Erling Haaland delivered another seismic moment in Premier League history on Tuesday, becoming the fastest player ever to reach 100 league goals during Manchester City’s wild 5-4 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage. The Norwegian needed just 111 appearances to hit triple digits, obliterating Alan Shearer’s long-standing record of 124 matches.
Haaland’s milestone strike was the headline achievement, but the match itself was a spectacle bordering on madness. City surged into a 5-1 lead through Haaland, Phil Foden’s brace, and contributions from Tijjani Reijnders and Jeremy Doku, only to endure a furious Fulham comeback that forced Pep Guardiola’s side to defend desperately in the closing seconds. Only Josko Gvardiol’s goal-line clearance from Josh King preserved the points.
The win pushes second-placed City within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal, who still have a game in hand. It also extends the City’s extraordinary run to 19 consecutive victories against Fulham in all competitions, the longest winning streak any English club has ever recorded against a single opponent.
But once again, the alarm bells accompanying City’s season rang loudly. Guardiola had already lamented his side’s fragility after blowing a two-goal lead in Saturday’s dramatic 3-2 win over Leeds. Another defensive collapse, this time nearly squandering a four-goal cushion, raises deeper questions about the champions’ resilience as the title race tightens.
Haaland, though, remains the stabilising force. After going three games without scoring against Newcastle, Bayer Leverkusen, and Leeds, the 25-year-old ended his brief drought with a finish that showcased his trademark power and precision. Jeremy Doku’s cut-back found him in stride and Haaland detonated a 12-yard rocket past Bernd Leno for his 15th league goal of the season and 20th in all competitions.
He soon turned provider. In the 37th minute, Haaland used his strength to shield defenders before threading an inch-perfect pass to Reijnders, whose delicate chip doubled City’s advantage and ended his own goal drought dating back to August.
Foden, operating in a more creative midfield role this season, continued his resurgence. He blasted City’s third from the edge of the box, then added a second just after halftime following clever link play between Doku and Haaland. The England international now has four goals in his last two league matches and looks revitalised as City’s primary connector between midfield and attack.
A Doku-driven move produced City’s fifth, a strike that flicked off Sander Berge for an own goal, seemingly sealing the points. But City’s concentration evaporated almost instantly. Alex Iwobi struck from 18 yards to ignite Fulham’s comeback, before Samuel Chukwueze fired twice in 14 minutes, including one effort squeezed through a crowded box after Gianluigi Donnarumma failed to deal with a corner.
What followed was survival mode. Eight minutes of tense stoppage time, desperate clearances, and one defining intervention from Gvardiol ensured Haaland’s historic night wasn’t overshadowed by one of the greatest collapses of Guardiola’s tenure.
City escaped with the victory, but the subtext is impossible to ignore. Can a side with this level of defensive volatility realistically chase down Arsenal? And how much pressure does it place on Haaland to sustain his generational scoring pace simply to keep City afloat?
The champions will relish the history made at Craven Cottage. But the chase for their seventh league title under Guardiola will demand far more than individual brilliance. It will require control, composure, and a back line that stops turning routine wins into emotional thrillers.