Man City celebrations underline tension

It is early November and this was a 2-1 home win against Fulham - but the reaction from the reigning champions underlined the sense of relief within the Etihad Stadium on a day of high tension.

While the top of the table was at stake, and not discounting the late drama of Haaland's stoppage-time penalty for 10-man City, these are early days in the season.

But, to Guardiola, this was the latest evidence that his players are ready to go again.

With only one more round of league games to go before the start of the World Cup, his team ran the risk of losing ground on early pace-setters Arsenal.

This was also the chance to take advantage in a weekend when rivals are destined to drop points, with Arsenal facing Chelsea and Tottenham taking on Liverpool on Sunday.

It was perhaps with that in mind that City's manager reacted so emotionally, hugging Kevin De Bruyne and ordering his players to thank their fans.

Moments earlier Haaland swung his shirt in the air after converting his penalty to bring back memories of Aguero's celebrations after firing City to their first Premier League title 10 years ago.

"We didn't win the Premier League today, of course," said manager Guardiola. "But in this moment it makes sense of our job for all of us.

"To see the faces of the crowd when we were on the pitch, it was really good."

Guardiola has spoken in recent weeks of maintaining the levels his team has set over a five-year period in which he has won four Premier League titles.

Down to 10 men from the 26th minute, when Joao Cancelo was sent off for a professional foul on Harry Wilson, his players provided an emphatic response, dominating the play throughout and pushing for a late winner.

It also helps to have the talent of Haaland to bring off the bench when in search of a game-changer.

The Norwegian striker, who missed the previous two games with a foot injury, was summoned after 64 minutes and City's threat level immediately increased.

So did the atmosphere, with Haaland's arrival sparking almost as big a cheer as Julian Alvarez's 17th-minute goal that put the home team in front.

Haaland was needed after Cancelo's foul on Wilson saw Fulham awarded a penalty, which Andreas Pereira converted.

City look a completely different team with Haaland at the point of attack, and he soon had the ball in the back of the net when heading in De Bruyne's cross from close range. But VAR cut the celebrations short.

Ultimately, it only added to the sense of drama, with Fulham defender Antonee Robinson succumbing to the pressure of trying to keep City at bay and bringing down De Bruyne in the box deep into time added on.

Haaland converted, even if goalkeeper Bernd Leno got a touch.

Elsewhere, Leeds 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.

Leicester's recovery continued with a 2-0 win against Everton. Goals from Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes secured a third victory in four games for Brendan Rodgers' team, who failed to win in their first seven of the season.

Wolves 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 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.