Fulham 0-4 Man City: Josko Gvardiol at the double as champions pile title pressure on Arsenal
Manchester City cruised to a 4-0 victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage to put them within touching distance of securing an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title.
Pep Guardiola’s side are now two points clear of title rivals Arsenal, after their seventh top-flight victory in a row, and need just two more wins to seal the title.
The visitors were totally dominant throughout and restricted Fulham to just one shot on goal on a sunny afternoon in west London.
Joskvo Gvardiol gave City an early lead with a well-placed strike into the bottom corner. The defender played a quick one-two with Kevin De Bruyne, before taking a touch past Issa Diop and slotting into Bernd Leno’s net.
Phil Foden doubled their lead on the hour mark with his 25th goal of the season. The 23-year-old, who was named the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Player of the Season last week, swept in City’s second with a first-time finish with his weaker right foot, after the ball landed straight at his feet from a Joao Palhinha sliding tackle.
Gvardiol then scored his second goal of the afternoon. The Croatian defender poked Bernardo Silva’s in-swinging cross past Leno with the outside of his outstretched right boot.
Finally, referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot, having shown Diop a second yellow card for a late tackle on Julian Alvarez in the final minutes of added time.
Gvardiol declined the opportunity to potentially become the first defender to ever score a Premier League hat-trick, allowing Alvarez to step up instead.
The Argentine striker sent Leno the wrong way from the spot to wrap up a hugely satisfying afternoon for City, the only blemish for Guardiola was seeing Nathan Ake limp off early in the first half.
Arsenal can regain top spot by triumphing against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, but City can put an end to this season’s enthralling title race by beating Tottenham and West Ham.
City are back in London on Tuesday, as they face Spurs. Meanwhile, mid-table Fulham, who scarcely challenged all afternoon, travel to Luton in their final game of the season next week.
