Fulham 0 Manchester City 4 – Guardiola’s side are two games away from a fourth consecutive title

Manchester City’s bid for a fourth consecutive Premier League title visited Craven Cottage on Saturday lunchtime, with Pep Guardiola’s side knowing a win would take them above Arsenal in the table.

Fulham started brightly but could only hold on until the 13th minute when a 19-pass move was converted by Josko Gvardiol – another important goal through the Croatian’s weaker right foot.

It was a similar story in the second half: early pressure from the home side… and then 13 minutes later it was 2-0, FWA Player of the Year Phil Foden scoring with the weaker foot this time. With 20 minutes remaining, Gvardiol (with — yes — his right foot) made it 3-0 with a curling finish at the far post, before a late Julian Alvarez penalty reduced Arsenal’s goal difference to just two .

Here, Sam Lee answers some of the key questions in the game.

How did Josko Guardiol turn into a goal machine?

“It was such an uncertain time,” Guardiola said of Guardiol last weekend. “It wasn’t really, really good.

Guardiola then explained how it’s normal for a player new to a league – and we’ve seen that often at City. “But we talked, I saw a lot of his shows and he understood.”

For much of the season, there have been questions about Gvardiol’s suitability for a left-back role, but it increasingly feels like he would be wasted at centre-back. No doubt in the future he will break forward through the middle like John Stones does – once he has picked up a few more subtleties of Guardiola’s plan – but while he is learning, the left-back is very good.

He is asked to be high and wide, but there are only a few overlaps and crosses – he is essentially still a midfielder, just one out, who receives the ball and passes it, keeping things moving; much like Jack Grealish was used, minus the dribbles.

But Gvardiol’s footwork isn’t bad either, and that was on display for his first goal at Fulham. Once in the box, he showed his composure to take one more touch before firing his shot.

(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

This kind of orientation on the pitch – and the ability to use his right foot – sets him apart from many players, especially defenders.

It had some problems at first; Guardiola talked about how Gvardiol always tried to be too creative in possession, giving the ball away, and defensively he was also caught out. But those issues have been downplayed in recent months and he has looked the ideal option for Guardiola’s muscular but technical back line.

Throw in a couple of goals, like the two here or the screamers against Real Madrid and Luton Town, and you have a very special player – albeit one who turned down the chance to become the first defender in Premier League history to score a hat-trick – trick. after City were awarded an added-time penalty.

De Bruyne’s ability to pick up assists almost under the radar continued, playing his part in Gvardiol’s goal, completing a one-two with the rampaging defender.

In a similar way to how Erling Haaland often scored a hat-trick in the first half almost by stealing, De Bruyne continues to come up with decisive contributions, even when he’s not splitting the defense with through balls or bending crosses to the back post.

(Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)

This ability to combine the more outrageous efforts with the simpler passes saw him rise up the Premier League assist charts in his nine years at City. Now, only Ryan Giggs has more than him in league history – and from a considerably longer career (nearly 27,000 more minutes).

De Bruyne also got the same amount of assists as Cesc Fabregas, but in 7,000 fewer minutes.

De Bruyne has nine assists in the Premier League this season, as many as any other City player, and has only played half of them.

In this game, he was again very much like Haaland in that he was in there, hanging around, waiting for his moment to get on the ball and make a telling contribution, as most of the work in possession was done by those positioned deeper and wider.

He could have had more assists as the game began to open up just before the break – especially after Manuel Akanji missed an unmarked volley at the far post, while Haaland deflected a good chance over the bar. It was the third time De Bruyne had created three Opta-defined “big chances” in a Premier League game this season, two more than any other player in the division.

He was taken off with 15 minutes to go knowing he had done more than enough.

If the sight of the ball curling over the line to give City an unassailable 3-0 lead wasn’t enough, then the celebrations would have left no doubt that Guardiola’s side were far from fazed by the pressures of another race to the title.

It was Bernardo Silva who sent the cross to the far post for Gvardiol to convert, weighing in and picking out the perfect finish from De Bruyne’s short corner.

And Kyle Walker wanted to make sure Bernardo got credit for it. As the City players gathered in front of the jubilant away support (including Noel Gallagher), Walker picked up the Portuguese in what was essentially a fire engine, taking him a good 20 yards from the others.

Bernardo is as much loved in the dressing room as anyone at City, but everyone is bracing themselves for another next-year summer – given that there is a buy-back clause in his contract, introduced last year after which agreed to stay — once again, but with an eye on exit finally being possible in 2024.

He’s considering one from 2021 – not that you’d know it, given how he’s put all of that behind him once the season starts and continues to be one of the key cogs in Guardiola’s machine.

Farewell time is approaching and it could be emotional when players go their separate ways for the holidays. Before that, they have three more games and if they win them all, they will have won a Premier League and FA Cup double.

Business as usual for Bernardo and the band, then. And they seem more than happy about it.

(Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

What did Pep Guardiola say?

“We have a lot of pressure,” Guardiola told beIN Sports after the game. “We know that if we draw or lose a game, it’s over. We know every game what we have to do.

“I’ll be honest – I couldn’t have expected this season to be in this position after winning the treble last season.

“I thought they would go down, but the consistency, it was the complete opposite.”

What’s next for City?

Tuesday, May 14: Tottenham (A), Premier League, 8pm BST, 3pm ET

City’s final away game of the season at the stadium where they find it hardest to win. Will Spurs fancy helping Arsenal’s title bid?

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(Top photo: Getty Images)