By Martyn Herman
(Reuters) – Manchester City’s Erling Haaland resumed normal service after missing his side’s last two games when his stoppage-time penalty gave the 10-man champions a dramatic 2-1 victory over Fulham to move top of the Premier League on Saturday.
The Norwegian phenomenon, who came off the bench, took his total to 18 Premier League goals for the season as City overcame having Joao Cancelo sent off in the 26th minute.
Leeds United backed up their stunning win over Liverpool last week when they stormed back from 3-1 down at home to Bournemouth to win 4-3 with Crysencio Summerville again the hero with the winning goal.
Wolverhampton Wanderers named Spaniard Julen Lopetegui as their new manager earlier on Saturday but, with caretaker Steve Davis still in charge, they lost again, this time 3-2 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, to stay mired in the relegation zone.
On an afternoon of late goals, bottom club Nottingham Forest snatched a 2-2 home draw with Brentford thanks to an own goal by Mathias Jorgensen in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Haaland had missed City’s last two games with an injury and was deemed fit enough only for the bench against Fulham.
He was sent into the fray just past the hour mark with City, despite being a man light, pushing for the winner.
Almost immediately he had a headed goal ruled out for offside after a VAR check, but neither he, nor City, would be denied.
When Kevin de Bruyne was tripped by Antonee Robinson in the area it was Haaland who took the penalty and while it was not his sweetest strike, the ball hit the back of the net.
“I don’t care how it went it, it is about it going in. Amazing feeling,” Haaland said. “When you’ve go 10 versus 11 for 70 minutes it is difficult, but I don’t think any team would do it as good as we did it today.”
It had looked like being a routine afternoon for City when Julian Alvarez scored in the 17th minute but when Cancelo bundled Harry Wilson to the floor to concede a penalty and earn a straight red card and Andreas Pereira fired home the spot kick, a return to the top no longer looked a formality.
City’s 10th win of the season lifted them to 32 points from 13 games with Arsenal, who travel to seventh-placed Chelsea on Sunday, on 31 from 12 games.
Leeds appeared to be undoing all the good work of last week’s stunning win at Anfield as Bournemouth recovered from conceding an early Rodrigo penalty to lead with goals by Marcus Tavernier, Philip Billing and Dominic Solanke.
The Elland Road mood was turning against manager Jesse Marsch but Sam Greenwood began the comeback with a curler before his cross was headed home by Liam Cooper.
Summerville, who struck the winner at Liverpool, then sealed victory for Leeds in the 84th minute as he latched on to a through ball by substitute Wilfried Gnonto.
Leeds moved up to 12th on 15 points with Bournemouth, who also lost after leading by two goals last week against Tottenham Hotspur, down in 15th with 13 points.
Wolves trailed to an early Adam Lallana goal, then led with goals by Goncalo Guedes and Ruben Neves only for Kaoru Mitoma to level and Nelson Semedo to be red-carded, all before halftime.
Pascal Gross’s fifth goal of the season then secured the win for Brighton to move them to sixth with 21 points.
Forest captain Dean Yates said it was a “massive moment” as a goalmouth scramble in the 96th minute ended with the ball going into the Brentford net off Jorgensen.
“It was a game we couldn’t afford to lose but we feel it’s two points dropped. We need to be winning these games at home,” said Yates, whose side have 10 points.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)
