Premier League: Erling Haaland and Pep Guardiola explain their reaction to the Norwegian's 95th-minute winner against Fulham

It was a typical day for the Premier League winners as Ilkay Gundogan raced forward from midfield and played in Julian Alvarez. He scored after continuous pressure in the 17th minute.

But the decision by referee Darren England to send out Joao Cancelo and award Fulham a penalty kick altered the atmosphere at Etihad Stadium.

Andreas Pereira converted the penalty, but despite the numerical advantage, the Cityzens retained control of the match.

Kevin De Bruyne shone most for Manchester City in a match that demanded all their championship qualities.

In the 75th minute, the home team thought they had taken the lead when the Belgium international found Erling Haaland, but a video review showed that Haaland was a little offside.

After Antonee Robinson fouled Kevin De Bruyne in stoppage time, Fulham appeared to have a chance to salvage a draw, but Haaland kept his cool and scored his 18th league goal of the season at the 94:33 mark.

After the nerve-racking performance, Haaland told the media, "It's fantastic. I was nervous. It was one of the most nervous moments of my life, but fantastic. A penalty in the last minute, of course I would be nervous. But it's an amazing feeling. I love it. I have been injured for a week and it is really important to win."

Manchester City had yet to score a Premier League game-winning goal since Raheem Sterling's 95:04 strike against Southampton in November 2017.

Pep Guardiola details his reaction to Erling Haaland's heroic goal

Despite playing with ten men for 65 minutes, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola praised his players for their "exceptional" performance.

Guardiola said, "Everyone was exceptional. The way we played 65 minutes against Fulham was amazing 10 vs 11, at the right tempo, had more chances, more control, the personality."

"We didn't win the Premier League today but these moments make sense of our jobs… Everyone played in the right, certain amount of angry and disappointment for many reasons, we were there. It was really, really good - one of the best experiences we've ever had here."

Guardiola stated that the absence of Fulham's best player Aleksandar Mitrovic made his team's mission more accessible, but this will not dampen his celebrations.

With Chelsea playing the Gunners at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, the outcome puts City ahead of Arsenal with 32 points. Fulham's four-game winning streak was snapped, and they now sit in eighth place with 19 points.

Although Guardiola will hope his team maintains this level of play before disbanding for the World Cup.