A well-worn football cliche it may be, but every game from this point for teams at the top and bottom of the table becomes a final.
H2H record favoured Man City
Arguably, it's between now and the end of March when titles can be won or lost, and relegation placings can be more accurately judged.
Recent head-to-head results suggested that Pep Guardiola's side were the biggest of favourites to win the game, having not lost in the last 21 league games against the Cottagers, dating back to 2009.
In that time, City had scored 60 goals and conceded just 19, though four of those came in the reverse fixture in December, City still managing to win the game 5-4 in a real thriller in West London.
Furthermore, Fulham had only won two of their previous 29 away games against sides starting the day in the top two (D6 L21), but one of those fixtures did at least come under current boss Marco Silva (2-1 v Chelsea on Boxing Day 2024).
Two changes each to the starting XIs
Both Silva and Guardiola had made two changes from their previous starting line-ups, with Nico O'Reilly making his 20th EPL start for City in 2025/26, and in the process becoming only the second English player aged under 21 to make 20+ starts in the league for the club in the last 17 seasons.
Within seven minutes of the match starting, Erling Haaland saw his first attempt blocked.
It was a 24th non-penalty shot without scoring for the Norwegian, the longest run in the league for the striker since he joined the Cityzens in 2022. The attempt also represented a 91st shot on goal this season, more than any other player in the English top-flight in 25/26.
O'Reilly (three times), Phil Foden (twice) and Rodri all then had attempts either on or off target as they pummelled the visitors from all areas of the pitch. 67% possession in the opening quarter hour evidenced that dominance.
Semenyo on target again
Not until Alex Iwobi's 23rd-minute effort had Fulham got anywhere close to the City goal, and the hosts responded a minute later by scoring through Antoine Semenyo - his fourth goal in seven EPL games against the Cottagers.
Despite the fact that it was a typical poacher's finish and not necessarily a goal to trouble the headline writers with, the strike did mean that Semenyo had become the first City player to score in each of his first two home appearances in the league since Kevin De Bruyne in October 2015.
Lightning would then strike twice within a minute, just on the half hour, as Harry Wilson extended Gianluigi Donnarumma at one end of the pitch, only for City to go straight up the other end again and add to their lead thanks to a fine O'Reilly finish.
The youngster's fourth goal of the season in all competitions was also Semenyo's fourth assist of the season in the league.
Haaland's customary goal seals it before half-time
Haaland wouldn't be denied before half-time, and his 22nd goal of the season - also his eighth in eight appearances against Fulham - killed the game as a contest.
The Norwegian was then subbed at the break for only the fourth time in his City career and first time since November 2023 v Bournemouth.
Despite a flurry of shots after the break, Fulham really had no answer to Guardiola's game plan.
Indeed, their lack of a midfield presence was exposed by the fact that Rodri had more touches (100), completed passes (86) and line-breaking passes (13) than anyone in the game before being subbed on 71 minutes.
Fulham will rue missed opportunities
Aside from Ryan Sessegnon's appalling 69.2% pass completion, Fulham at least matched their hosts for long periods in the passing stakes.
Iwobi, for example, posted a 92.1% stat, and Joachim Anderson wasn't too far behind on 90.3%, but for all of the neat and precise patterns, the visitors weren't anywhere close to being incisive enough when they needed to be.
In Kenny Tete and Raul Jimenez, Fulham had two players who attempted 15 one-on-one duels each, both more than any City player on the pitch, but yet won just eight and seven of those, respectively.
Perhaps the most glaring stat is that City had five shots in the box, all of which were on target, whilst Fulham had 12 shots from inside the 18-yard line and managed just three on target.
When one also considers that the Cottagers won more tackles in the game than the hosts (14 from 23 compared to City's 11 from 22), a less-than-satisfactory opening period contributed to a missed opportunity and the chance to have sprung a surprise result.
