By Ewan Murray
Manchester City breezed to a commanding 4-0 win over Fulham on Saturday afternoon to take another step towards the Premier League title and move back to the top of the table.
A brace from Josko Gvardiol, a Phil Foden strike and a late Julian Alvarez penalty helped Man City ease to an important victory, dispatching of a limp Fulham side and piling the pressure on title rivals Arsenal.
The Gunners face Manchester United on Sunday as they look to keep themselves in the title picture.
How the game unfolded
Man City headed to Craven Cottage as incredibly strong favourites having won their last 15 clashes with Fulham and it took just 13 minutes for the reigning champions to take the lead. A lovely passing move saw Kevin De Bruyne pick out Gvardiol and the in-form full-back took a wonderful touch before stroking past Bernd Leno.
The visitors began to strangle the life out of the game as they passed Fulham to death under very little pressure, with Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden testing Leno with slightly tame long-range efforts. Manuel Akanji probably should have doubled their advantage at the end of the half, but fired over from close range following a corner.
The Cottagers simply couldn't escape Man City's tight grip, continually handing possession back to Pep Guardiola's side. They failed to even register a shot on Ederson's goal in a first half that couldn't have been much simpler for the away side.
The second half followed much the same pattern as the first and Silva almost put Man City out of sight after the restart. The Portuguese collected De Bruyne's pass and rifled a near-post effort at Leno, who matched it with a firm save.
Just six minutes later and Man City did have their second goal of the game. Silva skinned Antonee Robinson on the right flank and drove into the penalty area before the ball eventually fell to the feet of Foden, who dragged a low drive into Leno's far post.
Erling Haaland, who had seldom touched the ball in the opening hour, then should have grabbed his customary goal against the Cottagers, but skied a wonderful opening to the bemusement of Guardiola on the touchline.
Man City eventually put the icing on the cake with 20 minutes to play and it was the surprisingly prolific Gvardiol with another strike. SIlva's deep cross was redirected goalward by the Croatian and the ball squeezed under Leno's body to add a third for the visitors.
Issa Diop decided to make life worse for Fulham supporters inside Craven Cottage by hacking Alvarez down inside the penalty area, receiving his second yellow card of the game as a result. Unsurprisingly, the Argentinian forward stroked home the spot kick with little fuss.
The result keeps Man City firmly in control of the title race and moves them two points clear of Arsenal at the Premier League summit before their midweek game in hand against Tottenham.
Fulham player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Bernd Leno - 6/10 - Made some decent stops when called upon but perhaps could have stopped Man City's third.
RB: Timothy Castagne - 5/10 - Struggled to cope with the dual threat of Foden and Gvardiol, especially during the first half.
CB: Issa Diop - 3/10 - Handled Haaland relatively well but was sent off late on for a clumsy challenge in the box, handing Man City their fourth. Struggled late in the match with the visitors' fresh legs.
CB: Calvin Bassey - 5/10 - Similarly to Diop, he was tight and physical with Haaland when required, bar one moment where he lost the striker - which could have proved costly.
LB: Antonee Robinson - 5/10 - Unable to offer his usual attacking threat as he spent most of the game camped inside his own final third. Silva's movement bamboozled him for Man City's second.
CM: Alex Iwobi - 5/10 - Couldn't do his former employers Arsenal any favours with a passive display in midfield.
CM: Joao Palhinha - 6/10 - Offered some much-needed energy and bit in midfield but was often left chasing shadows with very little support.
RM: Bobby De Cordova-Reid - 5/10 - Had just 15 touches in a ridiculously quiet first-half performance. Justifiably hooked at half-time.
AM: Andreas Pereira - 6/10 - A frustrating game for the former Man Utd man, who couldn't influence play in the final third.
LM: Willian - 5/10 - Offered nothing to Fulham's attack going forward, albeit he wasn't the only struggler. Taken off for the speedy Adama Traore at the break.
ST: Rodrigo Muniz - 6/10 - Incredibly isolated leading the line with Man City crowding him when the ball was fired into him. Did his best in tough circumstances.
Substitutes
SUB: Tom Cairney (46' for De Cordova-Reid) - 5/10 - Unable to change the flow of the game whatsoever.
SUB: Adama Traore (46' for Willian) - 6/10 - Offered some positivity down the right flank after the break, helping force Fulham's best moments.
SUB: Armando Broja (67' for Muniz) - 6/10
SUB: Harry Wilson (74' for Pereira) - 6/10
Subs not used: Marek Rodak (GK), Tim Ream, Kenny Tete, Harrison Reed, Raul Jimenez.
Manager
Marco Silva - 3/10 - After a bright opening eight minutes or so, Fulham completely caved once Man City took the lead. Couldn't create anything and were opened up frequently at the other end.
Man City player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Ederson - 6/10 - A spectator from start to finish in what was one of his easiest games in a Man City shirt.
RB: Manuel Akanji - 7/10 - Moved to centre-back after the introduction of Kyle Walker during the first half and was solid up against Fulham's bulky centre-forwards.
CB: Ruben Dias - 7/10 - A commanding display at the back and helped completely nullify the hosts.
CB: Nathan Ake - 6/10 - Lasted just 20 minutes before being withdrawn through injury. Perhaps his final game of the season.
LB: Josko Gvardiol - 9/10 - What on earth has happened to Gvardiol? He now has five goals in his last seven games and he took his first effort at Craven Cottage like prime Robert Lewandowski.
CM: Rodri - 9/10 - Another imperious display from the Spaniard who dictated the tempo of the game under admittedly little pressure. Hoovered the ball up on the rare occasions that Fulham got forward.
CM: Mateo Kovacic - 7/10 - Offered good balance in central areas and worked hard to reclaim possession for the Cityzens as quickly as possible.
RM: Bernardo Silva - 8/10 - A delicate display from the Portuguese who set up Man City's second and third. Such a wonderful footballer to watch.
AM: Kevin De Bruyne - 7/10 - Supplied Gvardiol for the opener and looked deadly in the final third, even if his final pass wasn't always bang on.
LM: Phil Foden - 7/10 - Got his goal after a frustrating first half in which he couldn't get too involved. A smart finish sealed the points at a crucial moment.
ST: Erling Haaland - 6/10 - Squandered his big chance after an hour, one he usually scores 99 times out of 100, and wasn't very involved elsewhere.
Substitutes
SUB: Kyle Walker (21' for Ake) - 7/10 - Thrown into the mix earlier than expected and performed admirably in a solid defence.
SUB: Jeremy Doku (75' for De Bruyne) - 7/10
SUB: Oscar Bobb (81' for Foden) - 6/10
SUB: Rico Lewis (81' for Kovacic) - 6/10
SUB: Julian Alvarez (81' for Haaland) - 7/10
Subs not used: Stefan Ortega (GK), John Stones, Sergio Gomez, Matheus Nunes.
Manager
Pep Guardiola - 9/10 - An effortless and straightforward afternoon for his players, who waltzed to a comfortable and crucial victory. Pure domination.
Player of the match - Josko Gvardiol (Man City)
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Fulham 0-4 Man City: Player ratings as Cityzens close in on Premier League title.
