Fulham 1-2 Man City: Player ratings as Cityzens go top of Premier League
By Sean Walsh
Manchester City moved to the top of the Premier League table for the first time since mid-February after beating Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola's men managed to outlast a wounded but resilient Whites side to go one point clear of Arsenal with a game in hand on the Gunners.
Marco Silva's charges put up a spirited fight but ultimately fell short at Craven Cottage.
Man City were awarded a penalty with only 90 seconds on the clock. Jack Grealish's cross was knocked back by Riyad Mahrez and met by Julian Alvarez, who was felled by the clumsy Tim Ream. Erling Haaland stepped up and picked out the very bottom corner to move onto a joint-Premier League record 34 goals for the season.
Haaland then nearly turned provide when he rolled away from Tosin Adarabioyo and teed up the free Grealish, whose curling effort was easily held by Bernd Leno.
On the 15-minute mark, Fulham found themselves level. Andreas Pereira's long ball over the top was nodded by Harry Wilson and into the path of Carlos Vinicius, who fired a half-volley past Ederson.
The visitors spurned a glorious opportunity to go ahead again in front soon after when Alvarez robbed Ream of possession, but just as he was about to pull the ball back, Joao Palhinha arrived in the nick of time and stole it right back.
Grealish found himself in acres of space once more but couldn't find the net, with Leno this time touching his shot onto the crossbar.
Soon after, Man City did go back in front. Wilson lost the ball in midfield and were caught out with a quick counter-attack, with Alvarez carrying the ball forward, reversing back to the 25-yard mark when harried by several retreating bodies and then powerfully lobbing Leno with a delectable finish.
Ilkay Gundogan could have added a third when his marauding run was found by an intricate Mahrez pass, though Leno was quick off his line to deny him from close range.
Shortly after the break, Leno pulled off another marvellous save, getting down low to keep Haaland out after the Norwegian met Grealish's cut-back.
The German goalkeeper produced a similar stop to frustrate Alvarez minutes later as Man City's search for a third goal continued.
Fulham were incensed that they weren't awarded a penalty when Ederson collided with Ruben Dias and found himself sprawling to claw the free ball off of Vinicius, though his challenge was deemed fair and the goalkeeper got away with one.
Minutes later, the hosts were again left angry when they weren't awarded a spot kick after Bobby De Cordova-Reid fell under shove from Kyle Walker, but again on replay there did not appear to be a foul.
The hosts piled the pressure on Man City in the game's closing stages but were unable to find another equaliser and the champions left west London with the points.
Fulham player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Bernd Leno - 7/10 - Kept Fulham in the contest with several good saves.
RB: Kenny Tete - 5/10 - Got embroiled in a physical feud with Grealish, though did give him a lot of freedom with the ball in play.
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo - 5/10 - Occasionally made strange calls as to whether to stay or go, pass or clear, leave or retrieve.
CB: Tim Ream - 3/10 - Roasted by Alvarez in his 21 minutes on the pitch until he was forced off with an arm injury.
LB: Antonee Robinson - 5/10 - Recovery pace came in handy given the space he often vacated for Man City to attack into.
CM: Harrison Reed - 5/10 - Didn't stand out too much in the midfield battle.
CM: Joao Palhinha - 6/10 - Went toe-to-toe with Rodri.
RM: Harry Wilson - 5/10 - Grabbed an assist but did little else.
AM: Andreas Pereira - 6/10 - Found it hard to consistently stay in the game but came up with a crucial contribution for Fulham's first. Substituted with a serious leg injury.
LM: Bobby De Cordova-Reid - 5/10 - A rather wasteful outlet and failed to win a penalty off of Walker.
CF: Carlos Vinicius - 7/10 - Equalised with an effort Aleksandar Mitrovic would have been proud of.
Substitutes
Issa Diop (21' for Ream) - 6/10 - Fulham's most reliable defender, unfazed in his battles with Haaland.
Tom Cairney (58' for Pereira) - 6/10
Manor Solomon (76' for De Cordova-Reid) - N/A
Dan James (76' for Wilson) - N/A
Sasa Lukic (76' for Reed) - N/A
Manager
Marco Silva - 6/10 - Fulham were unafraid of Man City despite their various injury woes.
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Manchester City player ratings (3-2-4-1)
GK: Ederson - 5/10 - Didn't inspire a lot of confidence.
CB: Kyle Walker - 5/10 - Looked rather hesitant and it's understandable why Guardiola doesn't fully trust him in this new system.
CB: Ruben Dias - 5/10 - Very few of Man City's defenders had particularly good games. The Portugal centre-back was guilty of not communicating properly with Ederson.
CB: Manuel Akanji - 7/10 - Swept up for his teammates' errors.
DM: John Stones - 6/10 - Had to drop further back to assist with actual defending today.
DM: Rodri - 6/10 - Put to work by Palhinha in the engine room.
RM: Riyad Mahrez - 7/10 - Looked noticeably than Robinson but was able to rely on his trickery to create space instead.
AM: Julian Alvarez - 9/10 - Often pushed up alongside Haaland. Fulham simply couldn't keep him quiet.
AM: Ilkay Gundogan - 6/10 - Got frustrated with a few errant passes which fell below his high standards.
LM: Jack Grealish - 7/10 - Should probably have taken advantage of the openings he got but nonetheless did well to create them.
CF: Erling Haaland - 8/10 - Tied the record for most goals scored in a Premier League season. Fulham had to bend their defensive shape just to cope with him.
Substitutes
Phil Foden (82' for Mahrez) - N/A
Bernardo Silva (82' for Alvarez) - N/A
Manager
Pep Guardiola - 7/10 - Man City lost their composure as the game went on but did enough to earn the win.