Manchester City ease to victory over Fulham

It’s a mark of how far we have come as Man City fans in the 10 years since Sheikh Mansour purchased our club, that today’s relatively easy victory against Fulham was not greeted with fervent acclaim by the supporters.

Many of us would view a victory at a canter as a joy to behold as we leapt towards safety from relegation and the mythical 30 points figure. Those days have gone. Now easy victories engender polite applause from the crowd not relief.

Guardiola was forced into an unexpected change at left back as Mendy was nursing an injury from training and not viewed as needing to be risked when Lyon loom large on Wednesday evening.

So Fabian Delph made his first start of the season alongside Otamendi who claimed the right sided centre back role today. Other than that Walker and Laporte completed the defence with the reliable Ederson between the sticks.

Today’s midfield made the mouth water – two Silvas, Bernardo and David, Fernandinho and Sterling and Sane blistering across the wings. Aguero claimed his rightful spot up front.

City took the lead inside two minutes. Sane converting at the far post after a neat break up of play released Fernandinho to make the assist.

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City continued at pace playing neat attacking football. Throughout the first half there was a fluidity across the attacking play which Fulham found impossible to defend.

There was a solidity across the back today and Otamendi excelled in the Kompany warrior role, breaking up play and making last ditch tackles. City could and should have been further ahead.

The cross bar and post were troubled and other players dragged their shots wide. If anything worries us fans it was the profligacy in front of goal again.

The second goal seemed a long time coming. David Silva jinked the ball into the net following a period of sustained attacking, where shots seemed to rain against the Fulham keeper. The thing about Guardiolas City is how quickly records seem to tumble. Today David Silva marked his 350th appearance with his 50th goal.

Sane had another goal disallowed for offside just before half time. The decision was close and replays seemed to suggest the decision was wrong. We could have done with the VAR system!

The second half continued at much the same pace and within minutes the game was safe as Sterling put in from a cross from Aguero at the edge of the six yard box. This was a simple flick of the leg to hook the ball beyond the reach of the Fulham keeper.

We could all hear him telling his defence exactly what he thought of them and it seemed clear some of them were no longer on his Christmas card list.

Fulham were a neat passing side and I believe they will stay up. It is to their credit they attempted to play the ball the whole match, they did not sit too deep unlike some sides at the Etihad but nevertheless they were pretty toothless today.

Aleksandar Mitrovic may have gone into the game as leading top scorer in the Premier League but this was not a game where he could bully the defence. Ederson was called into making a couple of saves later in the game as City started to see the game out and conserve energy. He was more  than a match for anything Fulham could do and never looked in any danger.

And so the last half an hour of the match kind of petered out. Ederson found himself with the ball at his feet on the edge of his penalty area and the crowd urged him to shoot. He didn’t.

City made a series of substitutions but Guardiola’s meticulous planning seemed to be upskittled when Aguero was withdrawn. Any plans he may have had to bring on young Phil Foden for game time were extinguished. Guardiola protected Fernandinho and Sterling by swooping them with Gundogan and Mahrez. It’s an impressive roster of substitutes available to the manager.

Choosing a Man of the Match is difficult in a side built of selfless team displays. Delph made a solid return to the side as did Otamendi. Sane celebrated the birth of his daughter with a return to his blistering best. Fernandinho was exceptional and made the most of some slack marking by Fulham. I think we all realise Fernandinho is looking like our most valuable player at the moment and how well we manage his advancing years and replacement may well define our next five seasons.

But today belonged to Bernardo Silva who whistled through a packed midfield, linking play and bristling with skill. There were a couple of moments where he controlled the ball whilst running with his chest, knee, foot and knee- keeping the opposition at bay. This is looking like his season.

Those last 30 minutes rumbled away. The crowd amused themselves. City kept the ball less and were unfazed by allowing Fulham some possession. Allowing them our ball knowing they could do nothing with it seemed like the ultimate insult.

My children played Man City top trumps card game and the football match happened in the distance in midfield. To be honest they could have dealt Ederson in he had so little to do by that point but the pundits may have felt that disrespectful.

So another win. Aguero was withdrawn early in the second half with a suspected ankle injury and that was the only downside today. We have dropped points only away at Wolves to an offside goal reinforcing to the City fans there is a conspiracy theory that the FA will ensure we do not retain our title.

They may be right because our performances will be increasingly ominous to opposition fans. We have not yet hit top gear but have 13 points out of 15. Its a long season and I am content if we can save our best form to the business end. As serial winners we know titles are secured in the Spring and the real battle is to still be in with a shout by then.

Our attention turns now to another competition as the excitement of the Champions League beckons. I would feel more confident if City had made a statement against Fulham but we trust in Guardiola. But we get a chance to set some momentum in just four days when we go again. Bring it on!