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WHY DECEMBER 2025 WAS PEP GUARDIOLA’S MOST "STATISTICALLY PERFECT" MONTH EVER

Pep Guardiola’s "most impressive month" is over. Read why Man City are now favourites to snatch the 2026 Premier League title.

Why December 2025 Was Pep Guardiola’s Most "Statistically Perfect" Month Ever
Guardiola’s Men Prepare For Sunderland

It's tough to say how the 2025/26 team will stack up against Pep Guardiola's other squads from his decade at the Etihad. They've shown a lot of potential six months into the season, but trophies aren't a sure thing yet.

Still, December 2025 definitely stands out as a crazy good month in Guardiola's 95-month tenure. It's not just that the Blues are doing well in the Premier League and Champions League, but where they got those wins.

Winning at Fulham, Real Madrid, Crystal Palace, and Nottingham Forest in a single month is quite the feat. Craven Cottage might not be the scariest place, but it's a long trip for a midweek game. Plus, the other three teams have been a pain for City in recent years.

Guardiola might not be thrilled with how they won—he wants them to be consistent for the entire match and for his young players to really show who they are all the time. But getting wins at those stadiums will help his players learn as they go. Once you’ve won at the Bernabeu, not many places can intimidate you, and the Forest win was huge because City lost there badly nine months prior.

City has totally answered questions about their away game performance this season. They lost three of their four league games—against Brighton, Villa, and Newcastle—on the road. They also messed up at Monaco in the Champions League after a bad second half when they should have won. Erling Haaland was mad and stormed off after the final whistle.

Those worries are gone after a month that was one of City's best ever away from home, statistically speaking. The last time City won all their away games in a month was in early 2024/25. Before that, you’d have to go back almost two years to February 2024 to find a month where they won four.

That February 2024 team was on its way to winning a fourth straight Premier League title and reaching the FA Cup Final. Before that, it was December 2021. City never won four away games in a month during their treble season, for instance.

Part of that is just how the schedule works—there aren't always four away games in a month. And once April and May roll around, if City is still in the FA Cup, they play at a neutral site. Still, it's amazing how good their December was, picking up so many good results from tough places.

That changes things as they head into another tough month with four more away games. They're at Sunderland on New Year's Day (who haven't lost at home in the Premier League this season), then at Newcastle for the first leg of their league cup semi-final, knowing they lost there recently and haven't won there in two years.

A few days later, it's the Manchester derby, followed by a trip to Bodo as they try to finish in the top eight in the first stage of the Champions League. City has done pretty well at Old Trafford lately, but derbies are always tense. And a plastic field in the Arctic Circle doesn't sound easy.

But City can go into these games feeling more confident after the December they just had. No matter how much the home teams try to rattle them, Guardiola’s improving squad has proven they can get results anywhere. They’ll see the first game of the year in the Northeast as a chance to really show what they want to accomplish in 2026.

LEGEND STATUS: ERLING HAALAND EQUALS COLIN BELL’S GOAL RECORD IN FULHAM STROLL TODAY

Erling Haaland equals Colin Bell's scoring record as Man City beat Fulham 3-0. Read how Pep’s side closed the gap on Arsenal.

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Erling Haaland strikes as Manchester City dominate a rainy Etihad

Erling Haaland climbed to joint-fourth on Manchester City’s all-time scoring chart, tying with Colin Bell, as Pep Guardiola’s team brushed aside Fulham 3-0 and closed the gap on Arsenal.

Haaland’s 153rd goal for City came in a match that felt easy for the home side. They barely broke a sweat at the Etihad on Wednesday, cutting Arsenal’s Premier League lead to just three points.

Antoine Semenyo struck first, keeping his hot streak alive, and Nico O’Reilly added another in a match that was basically one-way traffic, with rain pouring down all night.

City did all their damage before halftime. Job done, Haaland didn’t even bother coming out for the second half.

After struggling for a bit, Haaland seemed to snap back into form with a clutch penalty winner at Liverpool on Sunday. Maybe that’s the spark he needed.

Matching Bell’s tally is no small feat—especially considering Haaland’s done it in just 183 games, while Bell had 492.

Honestly, this game was a walk in the park for City. In the last meeting at Craven Cottage, City led 5-1 after 57 minutes but almost let Fulham back in, scraping by 5-4. This time, there wasn’t even a hint of drama.

Fulham made it easy, coughing up possession over and over and giving City every chance to attack.

You could tell a goal was coming. Phil Foden, starting after a spell on the bench, nearly scored twice early on. O’Reilly wasn’t far off either.

The breakthrough came 24 minutes in. Matheus Nunes whipped in a cross from the right, Haaland nodded it down, and Semenyo slid in to poke it past Bernd Leno.

That was Semenyo’s fifth goal in eight games for City, and his third against Fulham this season; he’d already scored twice against them for Bournemouth back in October.

Fulham did get a sniff at goal when Harry Wilson forced a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but City hit right back. Haaland got clipped by Joachim Andersen on a counter, but Semenyo kept going and slipped in O’Reilly, who coolly chipped Leno for 2-0.

City’s third came after Fulham gave the ball away yet again. Rayan Ait-Nouri found Foden, Foden passed to Haaland at the edge of the box, and Haaland buried it in the bottom corner for his first league goal from open play since December.

There was a quick VAR check for a possible penalty, with Semenyo claiming his hair got pulled, but nothing came of it.

City eased off after the break. Fulham tried to respond, and Wilson had a lively run, but it fizzled out.

Even with City playing in second gear, Fulham couldn’t get anything going.

Foden tried his luck from a distance but didn’t really trouble Leno, and Josh King forced a late save from Donnarumma, but that was about it.

ERLING HAALAND’S MENTALITY IS THE ONLY REASON MAN CITY CAN CATCH ARSENAL

Erling Haaland’s late penalty at Anfield has cut Arsenal’s lead to three points, reigniting Manchester City’s title charge.

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Erling Haaland Claims He Needs To Be "Sharper" For City

Erling Haaland isn’t giving up on the title just yet. After slotting home a penalty deep into stoppage time at Anfield, he made it clear: “The title race isn’t over until it’s actually over.” That late goal kept Manchester City’s hopes alive.

Honestly, things looked grim with six minutes left. Szoboszlai had just smashed in a free kick, and even with Bernardo Silva’s equaliser, City were still staring at an eight-point gap behind Arsenal. But that penalty—Haaland’s first league goal at Anfield—changed the mood. Now, if City beat Fulham at home on Wednesday, the gap shrinks to three points before Arsenal even kick a ball at Brentford the next day.

Haaland tried to play it cool when people pressed him about the win. “It’s just three points, that’s it. Doesn’t matter if it’s Tottenham, whoever,” he said. But then he admitted, “Yeah, I get it. It was a big one.”

He’s not getting carried away, though. “We’ve seen it before—this race goes down to the wire. Right now, Fulham’s all I’m thinking about. There’s still a lot of football left.”

Haaland’s still the league’s top scorer with 21, but his penalty at Anfield was only his second league goal since Christmas. In his first 20 games this season, he couldn’t stop scoring—30 goals for club and country. Lately, though, the goals have dried up, and he knows it.

“Honestly, I haven’t scored enough since the start of the year. I have to be sharper and better at everything. That’s on me—I owe it to the team and to everyone watching.”

He didn’t want to make excuses or talk too much about what’s behind his dip in form. “I don’t think there’s an excuse. Fatigue? Most of it’s in your head. The schedule’s brutal, sure, but for me, it’s all about staying fit and being ready to help the team. That’s what matters most.”

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