Man City chant makes light of Fulham controversy before Erling Haaland hat-trick

"Kalvin Phillips, he's top of the league."

Manchester City ended their fourth game of the season cruising, their fans enjoying themselves as the team played out what the scoreline will read as a comfortable win. Oscar Bobb came on for his senior debut for the final few minutes of a 4-1 win that the league table will rightly record as perfection in these early stages.

In reality, this had been anything but easy in a game where the Blues were left happy to be on the right side of a refereeing controversy as the officials helped them at a crucial time. It was probably best for everyone that Pep Guardiola was hundreds of miles away or his rehabiliation may have been put back by the drama and frustration that played out across a sunny Etihad.

The last time such a bizarre decision unfolded Bruno Fernandes was celebrating a derby equaliser in a game United would go on to win after a farcical non-offside call that it was later admitted would never be seen again. Nathan Ake's goal against Fulham was less ridiculous but still obvious enough that former City goalkeeper David James said on an official City broadcast that the wrong call had been made.

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Ake had done everything right, planting a header beyond the despairing dive of Bernd Leno to put a scrappy City back into the lead. The problem was that his fellow defender Manu Akanji had been stood in an offside position in front of him, and as he tried to get out of the way it caused Leno to delay his dive.

What happened next is unclear. Michael Oliver went over to his linesman to consult over the decision but gave a goal, before a VAR check upheld that decision - but who gave what and why remains a mystery.

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