Manchester City injected life into the Premier League title race by moving within three points of leaders Arsenal after a convincing 3-0 victory over Fulham.
Pep Guardiola, who has never lost to opposite number Marco Silva, promised improvement pre-match after accepting City rarely deliver complete performances - his side responded by racing into a 3-0 lead before half-time.
Antoine Semenyo was gifted an easy opener, his fifth since his January move from Bournemouth, and the hosts never looked back. Nico O'Reilly scored a well-taken second six minutes later before Phil Foden teed up Erling Haaland, who was withdrawn at half-time, to put the result well beyond Fulham in the miserable Manchester rain. A rather fitting reflection of Fulham's dismal display.
The visitors picked up the pace after the break and at least battled in the head-to-head duels, but were no match for City's immense finishing power. Guardiola's side are intent on making it as difficult as possible for Arsenal to lay claim to their first league honours for over 20 years, despite the Spaniard insisting his only interest is to "grow the team".
The Gunners have the chance to respond at Brentford on Thursday night, but for now, the gap has been reduced to just three. And with the top two still to play each other at the Etihad in April, this title race looks far from a forgone conclusion.
Your Site' Laura Hunter at Etihad Stadium:
Erling Haaland scored his first non-penalty goal since December 20 to end an eight-game run. The strike was superbly taken, too, an instinctive snapshot from the edge of the area. If that moment sparks a scoring run at this decisive time in the campaign, it might just be the difference. But, if City are forced to cope without him, that could equally prove an important turning point.
The No 9 did not re-emerge for the second half, a decision Pep called "common sense" against the backdrop of a 3-0 scoreline. Haaland has played 2,148 minutes in the Premier League so far this term, on top of European demands and cup commitments. He's clearly fatigued, which accounts for his drop-off in effectiveness from open play. There was no mention of an injury, though, which should put minds at rest.
It's likely he would have been used in reserve for this weekend's FA Cup game anyway, and the pause will do him good. If City are going to rival Arsenal for major honours come May, they must not only have Haaland fit, they must have him fully firing.
Antoine Semenyo to TNT Sports on his start at Man City:
"No secrets. It's just being part of a great team, environment, the coach has been great and they've made it easy for me to settle. It's all a fairytale right now.
"We had to back up what we did at the weekend. Being in a title race is new to me but I'm enjoying it, it comes with a lot of pressure and demands but we've got the team to do it. 12 games to go, let's keep going."
Man City boss Pep Guardiola:
"One of the best [performances] of this season. The next one is always tricky after the emotional games like Anfield. We adjusted a few things in our pressing, counter-pressing, with the ball. The fatigue was there. Rodri was exhausted, Bernardo was exhausted.
"But in many things, the back four was so solid. In general I'm really pleased for the performance and for the result. The first half was outstanding, really good.
"We were together with the ball, more calm. We suffered when we went to Fulham [in December], and after a demanding game emotionally and physically at Anfield, it's difficult. But we've talked a lot, I say 'guys, we have to do it again'. And they did it."
On the title race: "Always I said the focus is grow, grow, grow. It's how we can be more consistent over 90 minutes, how we can be better, and the players feel like 'wow, we can do it', in terms of mentality, battles, offensively and defensively. We are doing that."
On Haaland's withdrawal: "Niggles. He felt uncomfortable. The reason why? Many games. I didn't speak with the doctors. He felt something, fatigue. We have a lot of games and we have Omar [Marmoush]. Common sense, right?"
Fulham boss Marco Silva:
"Not good enough. We have to be humble enough to congratulate our opponent. They were better than us. We were not at the level. The high press, clearly we didn't play in the way we are capable of. Cheap goals, simple as that.
"These type of games, you have to be clinical if you get a chance. It was balanced second half, but we cannot be happy with our performance."
