Birmingham debutant Mikael Forssell scored twice as Steve Bruce's side twice came back from a goal down in an ill-tempered match at St Andrews. Louis Saha's 50th goal for Fulham in the first minute caught Birmingham out but the Finn levelled on the stroke of half-time.
A red card for Sylvain Legwinski on the hour appeared to have handed the momentum to City but Luis Boa Morte restored Fulham's lead despite appearing to foul Maik Taylor.
However, the home side would not lie down and Forssell scrambled a second equaliser as Birmingham retained their unbeaten record this season. The goal was soured though as Darren Purse was sent off as he tried to get play restarted quickly and lashed out at a Fulham player.
At The City of Manchester Stadium, Nicolas Anelka blasted home a second-half hat-trick to send Manchester City soaring above Chelsea into the Barclaycard Premiership top three on a scoreline of 4-1.
Anelka had already dispatched two penalties to turn the game on its head following Juan Pablo Angel's first-half opener.
When Tarnat won possession in midfield shortly afterwards, the German threaded another pass through to Anelka, who steadied himself before finding the target for a third time.
Filed by Barry J Whyte
