EPL 2022-23: 'I was nervous taking the last-minute penalty' - Haaland after City pips Fulham

Manchester City survived an upset and edged past Fulham 2-1, thanks to the last-minute penalty successfully converted by Erling Haaland. However, he admitted that he was nervous during the spot-kick.

Defending champion Manchester City received an unexpected competition from eighth-placed Fulham at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday. The hosts settled for a narrow 2-1 win. While the Cityzens had marched ahead with Julián Álvarez's 17th-minute strike, a red card to Joao Cancelo allowed Fulham to strike back in the 28th through an Andreas Pereira penalty. However, City recovered in the stoppage time with its own penalty, as Erling Haaland successfully converted it. As the hosts went atop the table temporarily, the Norwegian striker admitted that he was nervous while taking the spot-kick.

"Fantastic. I was nervous. It was one of the most nervous moments of my life, but fantastic. A penalty at the last minute, of course, I would be nervous. But it was an amazing feeling. I don't care how it went in. It is about it going in. I love it. I have been injured for a week, and it is essential to win," said Haaland following the thin triumph.

Meanwhile, Guardiola reacted to Cancelo's red card and told City's website, "He deserved the red. I say many times to all the players, outside the box, after 85 minutes, make a foul. But [at that stage], let them score. Okay, 1-1, penalty 1-1, but 10 vs 11 is too much. Hopefully, we can learn, not Joao, all of us. It happens in football - if you lose the duel with the striker, it can happen. Rely on Eddie. He can save it."

Guardiola also spoke on the chances of Kyle Walker and Kalvin Philips making it to the FIFA World Cup 2022, as he reckoned, “Against Chelsea, he [Phillips] will be on the bench, whether to play or not I don't know, but he will be on the bench. Kalvin is much better. I spoke with Kyle; he feels good too, but his surgery was later than Kalvin's. That's why I don’t know."