The night Manchester City beat Fulham 5-4 will be remembered in the Premier League for many years because it was not just a football match, it was a long story of fear, panic, pressure, relief, anger, and the kind of chaos that makes fans scream inside their living rooms. It was a night where goals were flying around like fireworks, a night where Pep Guardiola looked like a man standing in the middle of a storm with no umbrella, a night where people remembered Alan Shearer’s warning and asked themselves if the Manchester City manager ever took that warning serious. Because even though City won, even though they left Craven Cottage with three points, anybody who watched that match with a clear mind knew that this City team is carrying a problem on their back like a bag of rice. It is heavy, it is obvious, and it is refusing to go away.
The funny thing is that this problem did not start today. It did not start last week. It did not even start in the Fulham match. The truth is that Shearer saw it clearly from last month when Manchester City lost to Newcastle United. That was the day the warning bell rang. Newcastle beat City 2-1 at St James’ Park, and the whole match was full of controversy, shouting, arguments and VAR drama. But after all the noise calmed down, Shearer opened his mouth and told the world something simple, something honest, something very direct. He said Manchester City were giving away too many chances. He said Newcastle should have scored six or seven that day. Six or seven. Those are not small numbers. When a Premier League legend tells you that your defence is leaking like a basket full of holes, you are supposed to listen. But Pep Guardiola, with all his brilliance and trophies, did not take that warning serious.
In the Newcastle match, there were many big moments that confused fans. Phil Foden looked like he deserved a penalty when Schar knocked him down in the box, but the referee said play on. Malick Thiaw handled the ball but VAR kept quiet. Bruno Guimaraes looked offside before Barnes scored but VAR said Dias’ shoulder was playing him on. The whole thing was confusing. Pep Guardiola was angry after the match, and cameras caught him arguing with Guimaraes like two neighbours fighting over who blocked the street with their car. Pep told the media that VAR decisions, luck, small margins, and fine details cost them. And maybe some of that was true. But Shearer did not look in that direction. He said the real problem was how City allowed Newcastle to create chances easily, how the defence opened up like a supermarket door on Black Friday.
He said something that sounded harsh but true. He said if Newcastle had worn their finishing boots that day, they would have destroyed Manchester City. It was not about VAR. It was not about Schar. It was not about offside. It was about the defence. Shearer said City were lucky Newcastle did not score more. That is a big statement. But Pep did not fix anything after that. Instead, the problem started to grow like a plant being watered every day.
After losing to Newcastle, City went to Germany and lost 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen. In that match too, the defence was shaking like someone standing in cold weather without a jacket. Then they faced Leeds and conceded twice in a 3-2 win. Again, the defence looked soft like bread soaked inside water. It was clear that something was wrong. But the real disaster did not show itself until the match against Fulham. That match was not just a warning sign. It was a loud alarm. If Pep did not hear the first warning from Shearer, he must hear this one.
The night started like a dream for Manchester City. Erling Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute because that is what he does. The man does not need many chances. Give him one, he takes it like a hungry lion seeing fresh meat. Then Tijjani Reijnders scored. Then Phil Foden scored. City were 3-0 up. It looked like a normal City match. It looked like the kind of game where fans relax and say everything is under control. But the problem with this season’s Manchester City defence is that they never allow peace for too long. Before halftime, Emile Smith-Rowe scored for Fulham and reduced the gap. Suddenly, the match changed from peaceful to suspicious.
Second half started and Phil Foden scored again. The boy was shining like a bright star. City were leading by three goals again. Then something strange happened. Sander Berge scored an own goal for Fulham. Before City fans could breathe, Alex Iwobi scored. Then Samuel Chukwueze scored one. Then he scored another one. And suddenly Fulham were coming back like a team that refused to die. The scoreline was turning into a horror story for City fans. From 5-1, things moved to 5-4. The whole stadium was shaking. Pep Guardiola was pacing up and down the touchline like a man whose house roof was leaking during rainfall. The players were panicking. The fans were confused. Fulham smelled blood. And the eight minutes of added time looked like eight hours.
City finally survived, but nobody who watched that match could say they looked comfortable. They did not look like champions. They looked like a team begging for the final whistle. They held on and got the victory, yes, but the questions were bigger than the three points. Haaland scored. Foden dazzled. The attackers did their job. But the defence was a movie titled “Total Confusion.”
Right now, Manchester City have conceded 16 goals already this season. For a team that likes to control matches, that number is too high. When Guardiola first came to England, people used to joke that he did not like defending. They said he preferred to keep the ball and attack. But at least his defence later became strong. Last season they looked like a wall. But this season, that wall has cracks. And not small cracks—big cracks like the kind you see on an abandoned building.
The crazy thing is that this problem is not hiding. You do not need a microscope to see it. Every match is showing it clearly. But the question is: is Pep going to fix it or is he going to keep trusting the system and hoping things get better by themselves? Because right now, the Premier League is not waiting for anyone. Arsenal are still ahead. Liverpool are chasing. Tottenham are fighting. The league is hot like pepper. No team can afford to play with chaos every week.
After the Fulham match, many City fans started talking on social media. Some were laughing nervously. Some were shouting. Some were blaming individual players. Some were blaming the system. Some were blaming Guardiola. But the truth is that the whole team needs to wake up. You cannot score five goals and still almost drop points. That is not normal. That is a big sign of danger.
Pep knows this. He may not say it loudly in public, but inside his mind, he knows Manchester City are walking on thin ice. Any small mistake can break things. And the annoying part is that this season is not even halfway yet. There is more pressure coming. More big matches. More injuries. More surprises. The Premier League is like a battlefield where nobody sleeps.
The Fulham match exposed every weakness City have been hiding. The defenders were slow to react. They were not tracking runners. They were losing focus. You cannot do that in the Premier League. Teams like Fulham may look small on paper but they can punish you if you give them space. Chukwueze proved that. He came on hungry and he almost turned the entire game upside down.
Even Guardiola’s reaction after the match showed that he was not comfortable. Yes, he hugged some players. Yes, he smiled a bit. But deep inside him, he knows Alan Shearer’s warning has come true. The problems at the back are real. They are serious. And they must be fixed before it is too late.
Now City are preparing to face Sunderland next. Sunderland may be newly promoted but this season there is no easy match. If City defend the same way they defended against Fulham, anything can happen. Right now, they are two points behind Arsenal, but Arsenal still have a match to play. The title race is becoming tight. A small mistake can change the whole table.
The truth is that Manchester City cannot continue like this. They cannot keep relying on Haaland and Foden to save them every week. They cannot keep hoping the attack will score more goals than the defence concedes. Football does not always work like that. And Pep Guardiola knows it too.
But the beauty of football is that problems can be fixed if the manager is bold enough. The question now is simple: will Pep act before it is too late? Or will he keep trusting that everything will fix itself? Because if he waits too long, the Premier League title may start slipping away slowly, quietly, painfully.
The Fulham match was a warning. Not from Shearer this time. Not from fans. Not from pundits. But from football itself. Football was saying, “Wake up, Pep. Wake up City. The problems are clear.
