PAVES WAY FOR ANOTHER HAALAND HAT-TRICK

run and assist — though it looked suspiciously like a shot gone wrong — for Julian Alvarez was enough for them to establish a lead.

Yet Fulham equalised within a minute. Raul Jimenez touched Andreas Pereira’s corner onto Bobby De Cordova-Reid, whose shot was saved by Ederson but spun into the waiting path of Tim Ream at the far post, who, three yards out, duly touched it in for 1-1.

Then came the decisive moment that will dominate discussion. We were in the last and fifth minute of injury time in the first half when Phil Foden swung in a corner and Nathan Ake met it firmly with his head, placing it bottom corner for 2-1. Yet all could see Manuel Akanji was stood two yards offside directly in front of keeper Bernd Leno. Akanji had feinted — to get out of the way, perhaps? — but had also stuck out a leg — just after the ball had passed him, possibly? — but he was a giant clunking presence directly in the sight line of the keeper.

Referee Michael Oliver consulted with his assistant but awarded the goal and wasn’t invited to view the incident as VAR Tony Harrington didn’t see an obvious error. But most of the rest of the Etihad did when the helpful video screen operator replayed the goal, and Fulham went beserk, beseeching Oliver to take a view, which, of course, by now he couldn’t. At one point it looked as though the game wouldn’t resume, so animated were Fulham.

‘The players saw it (on the big screen), the

City players saw it as well, everyone that was on the pitch had the same opinion,’ said Silva. ‘The more times you see that moment, you have to be more sure it is disallowed.’

As such, the second-half Haaland show was entirely predictable.

On 58 minutes, Rodri played a through ball which Alvarez touched on and which deflected off Ream into Haaland’s path and the conclusion was inevitable, Leno stretching vainly to keep the strike out. The fourth only added to Fulham’s sense of grievance, coming by way of a Haaland penalty. Alvarez was pushed by Issa Diop, the penalty was awarded, taken and scored by Haaland.

Sergio Gomez used the final seconds of injury time to dash down the left, turn his defender inside out, before pulling back for Haaland to score an extraordinary seventh hat-trick in his City career.