With a 5-1 thumping of Fulham on Saturday, league leaders Manchester City maintained their 100% record in the Premier League thanks to a hat-trick of goals from Erling Haaland in the second half.
The champions, who have defeated Fulham in their previous 15 league encounters, took the lead with a perfect 12 points from their first four games thanks to goals from Julian Alvarez and Nathan Ake. Tim Ream gave Fulham an early equalizer before they were overwhelmed, and they have four points from their four games.
In only 39 Premier League games, Haaland—who set many scoring records the previous season—became the quickest player to attain 50 goal involvements on Saturday, scoring 42 goals and dishing out nine assists.
The most contentious play of the match occurred just before halftime when Manuel Akanji, positioned in front of Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno, leaped over the ball as it was entering the net, seemingly leading to the goal’s disqualification. However, VAR determined that the goal stood.