Manchester City moved to the top of the Premier League table with a 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
Premier League
Result: Fulham 0-4 Manchester City
Date: 11 May 2024
Venue: Craven Cottage
The defending champions made just one change from the win over Wolverhampton Wanderers as Ruben Dias returns to the defence, with Kyle Walker dropping to the bench while Jack Grealish missed out completely.
The Citizens got the opening goal on 12 minutes as Josko Gvardiol played a neat one-two with Kevin de Bruyne on the edge of the box before calmly slotting into the bottom corner.
Pep Guardiola was forced to make a change eight minutes later when Nathan Ake was forced off with an injury and replaced by veteran full-back Kyle Walker as Manuel Akanji moved into the centre.
Fulham, meanwhile, had no response for City's dominance in the first half and had no real attacking outlet on the wing or upfront to relieve the pressure.
City had a big chance to double the lead just before the interval when De Bruyne's well-wait cross found Akanji, who surprisingly put his effort over the crossbar with only Bernd Leno to beat.
The hosts did responded with a double change at the start of the second half, with Adama Traore and Tom Cairney replacing Willian and Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
However, the Citizens doubled their lead in the 58th minute as the ball rolled into the path of Phil Foden, who sent a first-time finish into the bottom corner for his 17th league goal of the season.
City went on to grab a third goal in the 73rd minute when Gvardiol bagged his second goal of the encounter with a first-time finish at the far post after getting on the end of Bernardo Silva's cross.
The third goal seemingly knocked the win out of Fulham's sail, as Guardiola's charges earned themselves a penalty in the 95th minute after Julian Alvarez was brought down by Issa Diop, who was sent off. Alavarez took responsibility and calmly slotted home the fourth goal.
Arsenal can reclaim top spot with a win over Manchester United on Sunday, but anything less than a win will allow City to win the league with a victory against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
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