Man City 3-0 Fulham: Semenyo, O'Reilly and Haaland score in first-half blitz

Manchester City produced a ruthless first-half display to dispatch Fulham 3-0 at the Etihad and trim the deficit to the Premier League leaders to three points. Antoine Semenyo opened the scoring before Nico O'Reilly and Erling Haaland struck inside a 15-minute spell to settle the contest well before half-time.

First-half blitz leaves Fulham reeling

City broke the deadlock when a misplaced clearing header from Sander Berge fell kindly for Antoine Semenyo, who poked home from close range to make it his fifth goal in eight appearances since joining in January. The visitors barely had time to regroup before Semenyo turned provider, sliding a pass on to Nico O'Reilly, who finished deftly over Bernd Leno to double the lead.

The third arrived when Phil Foden found the run of Erling Haaland and the Norwegian drilled a low, composed finish into the bottom corner. The strike ended a lengthy run without an open-play Premier League goal for Haaland and was his 22nd in the league this season. By half-time the tie was effectively over and Fulham, who have now lost the last 20 meetings between the sides, were left chasing a way back into the game.

Fulham had one notable chance when Harry Wilson's low effort was pushed away by Gianluigi Donnarumma, but overall the visitors were unable to match City's tempo, pressing and incisive movement in the final third.

Guardiola cautious as Haaland withdrawn with 'niggles'

Pep Guardiola lauded the performance while tempering any headline-grabbing claims about the title race. With a comfortable 3-0 cushion at the interval he opted to withdraw Haaland, explaining that the striker felt some discomfort and that it was better to be cautious with a congested fixture list ahead.

"Niggles. Fatigue. He said: 'I don't feel comfortable, '" Guardiola said of the striker's condition, adding that the substitution was common sense given the scoreline and schedule. Even with Haaland off, City controlled the second half, protecting the clean sheet and preserving energy for the run-in.

Antoine Semenyo continued to underline his fast adaptation since arriving in January, contributing both a goal and an assist and taking his tally of league goal involvements this season into the high teens. Phil Foden started after featuring off the bench at Anfield but was unable to add to his return; his low shot was kept out by Leno and the England midfielder has now gone 14 league games without a goal.

Title implications and home form

The victory moves City to within three points of the leaders, a margin that ensures the title race remains tense as the season approaches its business end. The win also extended City's unbeaten run at home to 12 matches, with the side taking 47 points from a possible 54 at the Etihad this campaign — a run that could prove decisive in a close finish.

For Fulham, the result is a setback. Marco Silva's team have now lost three straight league games and will need a response to halt the slide. Defensively they were breached quickly by City's high-intensity approach and will rue missed opportunities to alter the game's momentum early on.

City now turn their attention to keeping pressure on the leaders ahead of a busy spell of fixtures. Arsenal travel to Brentford on Thursday (ET), and the narrowing gap means every point — and every goal difference — could carry extra weight as the title fight enters its critical phase.