Haaland to the rescue for 10-man City as Fulham pay penalty

Erling Haaland came off the bench to score an injury-time penalty as 10-man Manchester City snatched a hard-fought 2-1 win against battling Fulham in the Premier League.

The visitors had looked like frustrating the champions after an Andreas Pereira penalty had cancelled out an early Julian Alvarez strike at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

City had to play more than an hour with a numerical disadvantage after Joao Cancelo was sent off for the foul on Harry Wilson which led to Pereira's equaliser.

Typically Haaland, fit again after illness and a foot injury but not ready to start, had the final say.

It was his 23rd goal in his 17th appearance for City since joining the club in the summer.

Prior to his intervention, it had looked like City would be left to rue a chaotic period before the interval when they relinquished the lead as well as their composure and control of the game.

Fulham, even without the threat of key forward Aleksandar Mitrovic, had proved more than a handful.

The hosts had started typically strongly and Bernardo Silva brought a good early save out of Bernd Leno before Kevin De Bruyne tested the Fulham keeper with a fierce drive.

The opener came on 17 minutes. Ilkay Gundogan threaded through a fine ball for Alvarez and the Argentinian, starting his third match in a week due to Haaland’s fitness problems, rattled in a shot off the underside of the bar.

John Stones thought he had added a second soon after when he pounced on a rebound from a set-piece but the flag was raised.

City relinquished their grip in a fractious 20-minute spell before the break.

Cancelo was the first to lose his composure as he saw red and conceded a penalty for clumsy challenge on Wilson.

Former Liverpool youngster Wilson was through on goal and