Josko Gvardiol scored twice as Manchester City put the pressure on Arsenal in the title race by beating Fulham to move two points clear at the top of the Premier League.
In a game they dominated from start to finish, the visitors opened the scoring early on when defender Gvardiol produced a clinical finish after a good move opened up the Fulham defence.
Phil Foden then continued his excellent form this season with a second after the break, sending a first-time finish past Bernd Leno.
Erling Haaland should have added a third midway through the second half but the Premier League’s top scorer somehow drove high over when through on goal.
But Manchester City did not have to wait long for another goal as Gvardiol stabbed in at the far post to put the result beyond Fulham.
Issa Diop was shown a second yellow card in stoppage time as he brought down Julain Alvarez inside the box, and the Manchester City substitute then duly converted the penalty.
The result means the Gunners head to Manchester United on Sunday needing to win to be certain of taking the title race to the final day of the season.
Manchester City are at Tottenham on Tuesday and if Arsenal fail to get a positive result at Old Trafford then victory will seal a fourth consecutive Premier League title for Guardiola’s side.
Arsenal’s capitulation in the crucial stages of last season’s title race meant it was ultimately a pretty comfortable win for Manchester City.
But this time they have been pushed harder by Mikel Arteta’s men, and Guardiola stressed earlier this week that there could be no margin for error in their pursuit of another league trophy.
Against a Fulham side with nothing to play for, coupled with an impressive run of 15 straight wins against the Cottagers, a slip-up always looked unlikely at Craven Cottage.
And so it proved as they dominated throughout to make it seven successive wins in the Premier League, scoring four goals or more in six of those victories.
Arsenal are still very much in the title race, and a win against Manchester United on Sunday would put the pressure back on City, but the manner of this comfortable win indicates that Guardiola’s side are showing very little sign of nerves when it matters.
Fulham winding down the season
Fulham needed to win to keep alive hopes of matching last season’s top-10 finish, but that was always going to be difficult against a Manchester City side going for the title.
The hosts did make an energetic start, with City struggling to get a touch of the ball for the first couple of minutes, but with Gvardiol’s goal the visitors were firmly in control.
Fulham had one moment in the second half when they caused some alarm for the City defence, Rodrigo Muniz’s flicked effort deflecting towards the far corner before Ederson was able to scramble across, but they were otherwise largely toothless.
While relegation has never been a concern it has been a disappointing end to the season for Marco Silva’s side, having won just one of their last eight Premier League games.
Bbc
