Erling Haaland grabbed a second-half hat-trick as Champions Manchester City maintained their 100 per cent Premier League start with a stormy but ultimately comfortable 5-1 win over Fulham.
The prolific Norwegian came to the fore to wrap up victory after Fulham had left the field at the Etihad Stadium fuming at half-time over a highly-contentious goal from Nathan Ake.
Ake had put City back ahead after Tim Ream had quickly cancelled out Julian Alvarez’s opener.
Fulham complained vociferously that Ake’s goal was allowed to stand as Manuel Akanji, stood in an offside position, had appeared to play at the ball.
City, and notably Haaland, put those issues aside with a confident display after the break, securing another win for absent manager Pep Guardiola, who continues to recuperate following back surgery.
The game began in sedate fashion, with not a hint of the controversy that was to flare up later. City, missing Jack Grealish due to a thigh injury, were unusually sloppy in possession and Fulham were without the drive of Joao Palhinha following the collapse of his deadline day move to Bayern Munich.
The visitors suffered a further blow as captain Tom Cairney was forced off injured with just 16 minutes gone.
City came to life when Phil Foden, who started in Grealish’s berth on the left, switched flanks with debutant Jeremy Doku.
Foden opened up the defence by playing a one-two with Akanji and weaving his way into the area but his ball across goal was cleared by Issa Diop.
They claimed the lead just after the half-hour mark as Haaland raced onto a Mateo Kovacic pass and swiped the ball across the area for Alvarez to stab home.
The advantage lasted just two minutes as Fulham grabbed a quick equaliser.
Raul Jimenez lashed a shot at goal from a corner and, after a touch by Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Ederson could only parry. Ream pounced for a tap-in at the far post.
City regained the advantage in controversial circumstances in first-half injury time.
The hosts won a corner when Diop just managed to get a head to a delicate cross from Foden that seemed destined for Haaland.
The goal came from the resulting set-piece as Ake, stationed near the penalty spot, planted a firm header into the bottom corner.
Fulham argued that Akanji’s movements had impacted goalkeeper Bernd Leno and their protests were long and hard, even continuing after a VAR review had concluded the goal should stand.
Manager Marco Silva was furious on the touchline and the players were still disputing the decision after the ball had been placed in the centre circle for the restart. Referee Michael Oliver did not back down and, not for the first time this season, Silva was shown the yellow card.
The stormy end to the first half appeared to take its toll on Fulham as City moved through the gears in the second period.
Haaland made it 3-1 just before the hour with a clinical low finish after Alvarez put him through on goal with a quick flick from a long Rodri pass.
The striker was then given the chance to add another when City were awarded a penalty soon after for a clumsy challenge on Alvarez by Diop.
Haaland struck the post with his last spot-kick against Sheffield United last week but this time he made no mistake.
He completed his treble injury time as he turned home following good work by substitute Sergio Gomez.
Nice 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain: Teenager Zague scores as champions end hosts' top-four hopes
Paris Saint-Germain beat 10-man Nice 2-1 on the road in Ligue 1 on Wednesday, leaving the hosts with no chance of a top-four finish.
Bradley Barcola opened the scoring for Luis Enrique's side in the 18th minute and 18-year-old Yoram Zague added a second just five minutes later.
Nice managed to get on the scoreboard before the break as some slack PSG play allowed Jeremie Boga to play through Mohamed-Ali Cho to finish.
However, their hopes of an equaliser were dashed when Melvin Bard was sent off in the 75th minute for a dreadful foul on Barcola, who produced a lively performance in place of Kylian Mbappe, who was rested by Luis Enrique as the French champions prepare for life without him.
PSG, who have already clinched the title and are preparing for the Coupe de France final against Lyon on May 25, have 73 points, while Nice are fifth on 54 points.
With one match now remaining, Nice are four points behind fourth-placed Brest, ensuring they cannot qualify for the Champions League.
Data Debrief: Memorable day for Zague
Zague could hardly have chosen a better moment to score his first PSG goal, doing so on his 18th birthday.
He is the youngest player to score on his birthday in Ligue 1 in the last 75 years.
Atalanta 0-1 Juventus: Vlahovic strike hands Bianconeri Coppa glory
An early strike from Dusan Vlahovic earned Juventus a 1-0 win over Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday, as Massimiliano Allegri's side lifted their first trophy for three years.
Vlahovic put Juventus in front in the fourth minute when he latched onto a pass from Andrea Cambiaso and broke into the box, before driving his finish past goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi.
The Serbia striker thought he had doubled Juve's lead in the 72nd minute when he nodded home from Cambiaso's cross, but that effort was disallowed for offside.
The Bianconeri had just 34 per cent of the possession and sat back for long periods, but Atalanta were unable to make their dominance of the ball count, failing to record a single shot on target from 13 attempts.
They will hope to fare better when they face Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final later this month, having now lost three Coppa Italia finals under Gian Piero Gasperini.
Data Debrief: Juventus on top once more
The Coppa Italia is Juventus' competition. They hold the record for most finals played (22) and won (15), and have now lifted the trophy in six of the last 10 years.
Allegri, meanwhile, has now won the Coppa on five separate occasions, surpassing Sven-Goran Eriksson and Roberto Mancini to become the competition's most successful coach outright.
Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea: Blues back on top of WSL with victory
Chelsea go top of the Women's Super League table after edging to a 1-0 victory over Tottenham on Wednesday.
Maika Hamano scored the winning goal in the 37th minute, tapping in from the goal-line after meeting Guro Reiten's whipped cross.
The Japan international almost opened the scoring before that, sending a diving header over the bar.
Ashleigh Neville scuffed Spurs' best chance over the bar from close range just after half-time, but the Blues regained their control to see out a vital victory.
Data Debrief: In their hands
Chelsea are on course to lift their fifth consecutive WSL after securing back-to-back wins against Bristol City and Spurs, scoring nine goals without reply.
Spurs' hangover from their FA Cup defeat may have carried over here, but they were up against a Chelsea side that have only failed to score in one of their 21 league games this seaosn.
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