Five Things Learned: Fulham 1-2 Manchester City (Premier League)

The Premier League title inched closer for Manchester City following their triumph in West London, with a 2-1 victory away to Fulham.

It was a victory which placed Manchester City top of the table, and although their position at the summit may be temporarily swiped from them during the week, the win over Fulham hugely helps the Sky Blues’ bid to win a third straight title.

All the signs are pointing towards City winning a hat-trick of Premier League titles, with the victory on Sunday a massive help in Pep Guardiola’s ongoing treble quest.

Arsenal came to Craven Cottage this season and swept Fulham aside, and when Manchester City were awarded a penalty inside 90 seconds, it felt like the same would be repeated.

Julian Alvarez was brought down under a challenge by Tim Ream and won the penalty for Manchester City, a spot kick which was taken by Erling Haaland.

Haaland stepped up to the spot and delivered, something Manchester City fans have seen 50 times this season, with Haaland nestling in a half century of goals – a truly remarkable stat, enhanced by the fact that he could play up to 10 more games this season.

With the early lead and the pattern of play very much suiting City, a whitewash felt almost inevitable with Fulham defending tirelessly just 15 minutes into the game. However, it would be the home side who would strike next.

A lofted ball would find Harry Wilson, who evaded his marker and knocked the ball down to Carlos Vinicius, who controlled and fired the ball on his left foot past Ederson, equalising against the run of play.

The confidence this gave Fulham was apparent, as the Cottagers were finally able to impose themselves in the game.

However, when you have the fire power that City do, momentum sometimes isn’t enough – a fact which Julian Alvarez was delighted to remind the home crowd of.

The World Cup winner unleashed an unstoppable shot from outside of the penalty area, leaving Bernd Leno helpless and restoring Manchester City’s lead before half-time.

Controlling the tempo of the game is a typical City feature in matches, but it wasn’t as simple as that on Sunday.

The away side at times looked a tad wary, giving unnecessary chances away, none which panicked the away crowd more than when Ederson rushed off his line before having a mix up with Dias, seemingly giving Carlos Vinicius an open goal.

Ederson managed to redeem himself and reach out with a long right arm to thwart the danger, as a collective sigh of relief ran through the travelling Manchester City faithful.

It wasn’t the easiest afternoon for City but the away side managed to get the job done and bring a crucial three points back to Manchester ahead of their midweek clash with West Ham.

With that being said, here are five things we learned from City’s away victory over Fulham!

Julián Álvarez, La Araña. 🕷️🇦🇷 @ManCity pic.twitter.com/9zprVWSt0W

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) April 30, 2023

The title inches closer!

A temporary spot at the top before Arsenal take on Chelsea is a position Pep Guardiola and his players will be very happy to be in, considering how unlikely it seemed following City’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest in February.

With seven games left to play in the Premier League for City, every game has massive implications on the title race, with every three points crucial. City have a game in hand over Arsenal, meaning regardless of their result on Tuesday, it is in City’s hands now.

Manchester City know how to get the job done when necessary, and their away game against Fulham was a prime example of this. The three points was vital as they close in on their third straight Premier League title.

Haaland grabs the headlines again!

A third minute penalty conversion was Haaland’s 50^th goal of the season, a stat which is more remarkable the more you think about it.

The Norwegian arrived with a weight of expectation and some question marks over his head, but his debut Premier League season has outweighed all expectations and answered every question mark he had.

A Haaland goal is borderline inevitable now, which is a ludicrous and unprecedented standard in the Premier League, evidenced by the fact that he has the most goals in a single 38-game Premier League season.

And, a quick reminder to those concerned that most players improve in their second season under Pep Guardiola.

Should Julian Alvarez be starting more often?

Often described as “an embarrassment of riches”, the depth Guardiola has at his disposal is a blessing, and no rotation player has delivered more this season than Julian Alvarez.

Alvarez was also signed last summer for a staggeringly cheap fee. The Argentine arrived with comparisons to City legend Sergio Aguero , a comparison in which he seemingly enjoys, with the forward copying the trademark celebration.

The 23 year-old often scores when he starts, with seven goals in eight starts this season in the Premier League, which begs the question – should he be given more starts considering his remarkably good record when starting the game?

It was a performance of champions!

Fulham have provided City with a difficult afternoon both home and away, with the Blues squeezing past them both times with 2-1 victories.

Winning away in the Premier League isn’t always easy, but Manchester City ensured they achieved their goal with a typical champions performance.

City and Guardiola have massive experience by now in the late stages of a title race, and understand the idea that winning doesn’t always have to be pretty at this stage of the season, with yellow cards to Ederson and Kyle Walker for timewasting evidence of this fact.

The brilliance of this team comes from the fact that they know when to differentiate between playing pretty and simply getting the job done, with the 4-1 thrashings of Liverpool and Arsenal completely contrasting the one goal victories over Crystal Palace and Fulham away.

The tactical know-how and the title race experience is what puts Manchester City in an extraordinary position heading into the final month of the Premier League season, as Guardiola looks to close in on his fifth Premier League title since his arrival in 2016.

Another 𝗛𝗨𝗨𝗨𝗨𝗨𝗨𝗨𝗨𝗚𝗘 win! 😍💙✅ pic.twitter.com/eZfknoij2b

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) April 30, 2023

Stopping Manchester City – impossible!

Chasing the coveted treble and playing incredible football along the way, this City side are simply a blessing to fans and enjoyers of football – particularly if you are a supporter of the club.

The football on display is simply mesmerising at times, but the results more than match, with eight straight victories in the Premier League, with City being unbeaten in their last 14 games in all competitions.

How do you stop Manchester City? Well, that’s the all important question which hasn’t been answered since the beginning of February.