When Erling Haaland stuck away a 95th-minute penalty for ten-man Manchester City back in November, the Etihad erupted. The players did a lap of honour, and Pep Guardiola would call the win 'the moment' of his time at the club. "We didn’t win the Premier League here today, of course, but this moment makes sense of our job for all of us," the jubilant manager said in his post-match press conference, noting that the win and celebrations showed him that his players and staff were 'still there' in wanting to win the title after seven years under his leadership.
That November win came after a busy run as the World Cup approached, but City would lose their final game before the mid-season break next time out against Brentford.
Fast forward five months, and Guardiola will be looking for another 'moment' when they face Fulham again. ALSO READ: City leaders are making sure Guardiola's job is easier during treble run-in Part of the reason the November win sparked so much elation was because City had played 65 minutes with ten men following Joao Cancelo's red card.
Guardiola had been annoyed that Cancelo put himself in a position to get sent off as last man, telling him he should have pulled out of a challenge and let Ederson deal with the resulting shot on goal.