MANCHESTER, England, Oct 5 (Reuters) – Mateo Kovacic scored either side of halftime to propel Manchester City to an exhilarating 3-2 victory over Fulham at a sun-drenched Etihad Stadium on Saturday, solidifying their hold on second place in the Premier League standings.
Pep Guardiola‘s side now sits with 17 points after seven games, just a point behind league leaders Liverpool, while Marco Silva’s Fulham occupies the sixth position with 11 points.
Although City controlled possession early in the match, Fulham found their rhythm and struck first. Andreas Pereira opened the scoring in the 26th minute, capitalizing on a crafty backheel from Mexican Raul Jimenez.
City equalized six minutes later when Fulham struggled to clear a corner. The ball landed at Kovacic‘s feet, who took one touch before firing it into the net. “We always say that there are no easy games,” said Kovacic. “We dominated in the beginning but couldn’t score, conceded the goal, and then bounced back quickly. In the end, we won it, and it was a tough game against an opponent in good form, so it’s great for us to continue winning.”
Just seconds into the second half, thousands of fans had not yet returned to their seats when the midfielder netted his second goal — his third of the season — in the 47th minute. Kovacic latched onto a pass from Jack Grealish and rifled a brilliant shot from the edge of the area into the back of the net.
Jeremy Doku extended City’s lead in the 82nd minute with a spectacular strike into the top corner for the Belgian’s first goal of the season. Rodrigo Muniz pulled one back for the visitors in the 88th minute with a deflected shot from 15 yards out that found its way into the roof of the net. Despite this, City held firm to claim the victory against a Fulham side that will be disappointed to leave without a point.
Manchester City recorded 20 shots compared to Fulham’s 11, but Adama Traore missed two golden opportunities, finding himself one-on-one with Ederson on both occasions, only to shoot straight at the goalkeeper.
It was a quiet afternoon for the league’s top scorer, Erling Haaland, whose best chance came early in the match, where his shot was saved by Bernd Leno diving to his right. Ilkay Gundogan also came close, blasting a long-range effort just wide of the net in the first half.
Before kickoff, City fans displayed a banner in Guardiola‘s native Catalan, urging him to remain as manager. The coach’s contract expires at the end of the season, and he remained non-committal about his future, jokingly suggesting fans send him a bill for the banner.