Manchester City narrowed the gap on league-leading Arsenal to just three points with a dominant 3-0 victory over Fulham on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, in Week 26 of the English Premier League.
City secured all three points in the first half with goals from Ghanian forward Antoine Semenyo (24th minute), Nico Orellie (30th minute), and Norwegian striker Erling Haaland (39th minute).
Haaland extended his lead at the top of the league’s scoring charts to 22 goals in 26 matches.
The win keeps Manchester City, with 53 points, firmly in pursuit of Arsenal, trailing by only three points. Arsenal can restore their six-point advantage, though, with a victory over Brentford on Thursday in the final match of this round.
Manchester City players. (AFP)
City extended their winning streak against Fulham to an impressive 19 consecutive matches, dating back to 2011. This remarkable run surpasses even the period under manager Pep Guardiola, marking his 15th victory in charge. It’s as well the longest winning streak by any team against a single opponent in English football history.
Fulham had enjoyed a strong run of form over the Christmas and Recent Year period, collecting 11 points from five matches. However, they have now suffered three consecutive defeats against Manchester United (2-3), Everton (1-2), and now Manchester City.
Guardiola made two changes to the lineup that secured a thrilling 2-1 win over Liverpool in their previous match, bringing in Portuguese defender Rúben Dias for the first time in over a month, replacing Uzbekistani Abdulkadir Khusanov. Phil Foden also returned to the starting eleven, while Egyptian player Omar Marmoush was named on the bench, later entering the game as a substitute for Haaland after the break.
Aston Villa also returned to winning ways with a late goal, an own goal from Jack Hinshelwood, securing a 1-0 victory over Brighton (86th minute).
Villa, managed by Unai Emery, remain in contention for the title, now six points behind Arsenal and three behind Manchester City.
Liverpool secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Sunderland, with Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk scoring the decisive goal in the 61st minute. The goal came from a header by the Liverpool captain following a corner kick from Egyptian Mohamed Salah, helping the team rebound from a painful loss to City in the previous round.
Liverpool now has 42 points, in sixth place, three points behind fourth-placed Manchester United and two points behind fifth-placed Chelsea, who drew 1-1 with West Ham and 2-2 with Leeds United on Tuesday.
A fierce battle for Champions League qualification is unfolding between United, Chelsea, and Liverpool.
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In the following are the results and standings of Week 26 of the English Football Championship:
Tuesday
Tottenham – Newcastle United 1 – 2
Chelsea – Leeds United 2 – 2
Everton – Bournemouth 1 – 2
West Ham – Manchester United 1 – 1
Wednesday
Nottingham Forest – Wolverhampton 0 – 0
Aston Villa – Brighton 1 – 0
Manchester City – Fulham 3 – 0
Crystal Palace – Burnley 2 – 3
Sunderland – Liverpool 0 – 1
Thursday
(20:00) Brentford – Arsenal
Standings (Played, Won, Drawn, Lost, Goals For, Goals Against, Points):
1. Arsenal 25 17 5 3 49 17 56
2. Manchester City 26 16 5 5 54 24 53
3. Aston Villa 26 15 5 6 37 27 50
4. Manchester United 26 12 9 5 47 37 45
5. Chelsea 26 12 8 6 47 30 44
6. Liverpool 26 12 6 8 41 35 42
7. Brentford 25 12 3 10 39 34 39
8. Everton 26 10 7 9 29 30 37
9. Bournemouth 26 9 10 7 43 45 37
10. Newcastle United 26 10 6 10 37 37 36
11. Sunderland 26 9 9 8 27 30 36
12. Fulham 26 10 4 12 35 40 34
13. Crystal Palace 26 8 8 10 28 32 32
14. Brighton 26 7 10 9 34 34 31
15. Leeds United 26 7 9 10 36 45 30
16. Tottenham 26 7 8 11 36 37 29
17. Nottingham Forest 26 7 6 13 25 38 27
18. West Ham 26 6 6 14 32 49 24
19. Burnley 26 4 6 16 28 51 18
20. Wolverhampton 26 1 6 19 16 48 9
and Nottingham Forest drew 0-0 with bottom-placed Wolverhampton, raising their point total to 9 in 20th place, while Nottingham Forest remains in 17th with 27 points.
