Manchester City 3 Fulham 0: City player ratings as City stroll to victory | OneFootball

Manchester City 3 (Antoine Semenyo 24′, Nico O’Reilly 30′, Erling Haaland 39′)

Fulham 0

Manchester City have beaten Fulham 3-nil tonight at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola’s side put the visitors away early as goals from Antoine Semenyo, Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland effectively ended the match. Manchester City’s second half performance tailed off but the game was pretty well over by halftime. The most important part was that City won, and have temporarily closed the gap on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League to three points ahead of the Gunners clash with Brentford tomorrow.

When the starting lineups were announced, Pep Guardiola had made two changes to the starting eleven that beat Liverpool at Anfield. Phil Foden and Ruben Dias replaced Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov in the starting lineup.

First half.

Manchester City began the game brightly, were incisive in possession, and worried Fulham with their high press. City had early chances through Erling Haaland and Phil Foden. Fulham defender Joachim Andersen blocked a shot from a good position from Haaland in the 6th minute, and he was at it again to deny a stinging Phil Foden volley a minute later. Foden saw a right-footed shot saved by Fulham keeper Bernd Leno in the 10th minute after some nimble footwork from Foden created the opportunity. The positive for Pep Guardiola’s side was that Foden looked lively to begin the game.

Up until the 24th minute, Manchester City continued to dominate possession. But the early impetus had gone out of their play as Fulham grew into the game. Nico O’Reilly fired two long-range efforts over the bar, and City’s high press did cause Fulham issues. Fulham had their first attack of the game in the 22nd minute when a free-flowing move from Marco Silva’s side set Alex Iwobi up for a shot from a tight angle. Ruben Dias blocked Iwobi’s shot in typical Dias fashion to snuff out the danger.

Antoine Semenyo gives Manchester City the lead!!

Pep Guardiola’s side would take the lead in the 24th minute through Antoine Semenyo. A cross was flighted into the Fulham area from the right, and Erling Haaland got a glancing touch with his head to the ball. Antoine Semenyo reacted quickest to the knockdown and beat Bernd Leno with a smart sliding finish. City were good value for their lead based on the early balance of play.

Gianluigi Donnarumma made his first save of the night five minutes after Semenyo’s goal. A swift Fulham counter-attack saw Emile Smith-Rowe play in Harry Wilson on the right. Wilson worked himself into a good position to shoot on the edge of City’s area, but his shot was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma low down to his right.

Nico O’Reilly doubles Manchester City’s lead!!!

Manchester City would take a 2-nil lead a minute after Fulham’s first chance of the match. City swept forward on the break, and Erling Haaland received the ball on the halfway line. He rode a challenge from a Fulham defender before playing the ball to Antoine Semenyo on his left. Haaland was fouled by Joachim Andersen after playing the ball, but the referee played a smart advantage to allow the City attack to continue. Semenyo drove at the Fulham defence and slipped in Nico O’Reilly on his left. O’Reilly beat Bernd Leno with a strong finish to double Manchester City’s lead.

Erling Haaland makes it 3-nil as City turn the screw.

Manchester City took a 3-nil lead in the 39th minute. Rayan Ait-Nouri neatly dispossessed Fulham midfielder Sander Berge on the halfway line and surged at the Fulham defence. Ait-Nouri played a smart ball to Phil Foden in a dangerous position in the final third. Foden played a nice pass to Haaland, who beat Bernd Leno with a clever low drive from outside the penalty area to give City a 3-nil lead. Pep Guardiola’s side was well worth their lead, given how well they’d played thus far.

Fulham should have made 3-1 two minutes later. A poor defensive header from Marc Guehi gave Fulham possession in a dangerous position. Raul Jiménez got himself into a dangerous position and played a ball across the six-yard box that somehow evaded Emile Smith Rowe at the backpost. Fulham’s chance was a warning to Pep Guardiola’s side of the danger going forward that Fulham still had in their ranks.

At halftime, Manchester City were good value for their 3-nil lead. Manchester City’s all-around play was superb and their high press had caused Fulham issues when the visitors tried to play out from the back. Pep Guardiola’s were all over Fulham for the majority of the first half. Having said that, Marco Silva’s side did have several half chances at the end of the first half so the job was far from done for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Second half.

Fulham had their best spell of the game immediately after halftime. In the first 10 minutes of the second half, Marco Silva’s side enjoyed their best spell of possession and territory. Gianluigi Donnarumma saved an Emile Smith Rowe shot from the right-hand side of the City penalty area in the 47th minute, but Smith Rowe’s shot was going wide anyway. Up until the 60th minute, City had one low Phil Foden shot saved by Bernd Leno, but there was a notable drop in intensity from Pep Guardiola’s side.

After a flurry of substitutions from both sides, as the game entered the 75th minute mark the sting had seemingly come out of the match. Oscar Bobb came off the bench for Fulham in what was a special moment. Bobb received a warm reception from the Manchester City fans which was a lovely touch.

If anything summed up the second half from Pep Guardiola’s side it was a moment of play between Marc Guehi and Gianluigi Donnarumma. Guehi attempted play a pass out of defence in the 78th minute that Fulham cut out. Guehi won the ball back and played a simple pass back to Gianluigi Donnarumma. Donnarumma was pressed by Oscar Bobb and the Italian keeper played the ball into Bobb and it trickled out for a goal kick. The sting had well and truly gone out of the game but looking at Pep Guardiola’s mannerisms throughout the second half he was far from happy with his team’s second half display.

The remainder of the game played out without incident and come the final whistle, Manchester City had closed the gap to Arsenal at the top of the Premier League to three points. Mikel Arteta’s side play Brentford tomorrow night but Pep Guardiola’s side had done their job at the Etihad Stadium tonight.

City player ratings.

Gianluigi Donnarumma-7/10: Made the saves he had to in a good performance in goal from Donnarumma.

Matheus Nunes-6.5/10: Got forward well but a few of his touches were sloppy. Taken off after an hour after doing his job for his team. A workman like performance from Nunes more than anything else.

Ruben Dias-7/10: Got through 90 minutes and put in a good performance.

Marc Guehi-9/10: A superb performance from Guehi. He was arguably Manchester City’s most consistent performer over the full 90 minutes and his crucial blocks and interventions didn’t allow Fulham a route back into the game.

Rayan Ait-Nouri-7.5/10: A good performance again from Ait-Nouri. He played a key role in Manchester City’s third goal and is becoming vitally important at left-back.

Rodri-7.5/10: Manchester City’s midfield general is getting back to his best. His passing was superb and he went about his work well.

Bernardo Silva-7.5/10: Taken off after an hour after putting another very good performance. He led City’s press and once again put himself about in midfield before having a well-earned rest.

Nico O’Reilly-8.5/10: O’Reilly grabbed a goal and his best attributes add another dimension to City’s midfield. He faded out of the game in the second half but the damage was done by then.

Antoine Semenyo-8.5/10: Semenyo scored City’s opener as his goal scoring instincts were on full display. He also set up O’Reilly’s goal with a clever piece of play.

Phil Foden-8/10: I really liked Foden’s game tonight. He was lively, grabbed an assist and he looked like a period of rest had done him the world of good. Good signs tonight from Foden.

Erling Haaland-8/10: Grabbed a goal and linked up the play well while he was on the pitch in the first half. Haaland was taken off at halftime after being on the end of a tough challenge from Joachim Andersen. Hopefully, Haaland’s early substitution was just a precaution.

Substitutes.

Omar Marmoush-6/10: He didn’t offer a lot off the bench.

Tijjani Reijnders-6/10: As with Marmoush, Reijnders was on the periphery of the game after coming on.

Abdukodir Khusanov-7/10: A good performance at right-back from Khusanov.

Rayan Cherki-6/10: Cherki came on, but didn’t offer much as the sting was out of the game.

Nico-6.5/10: Had some nice touches after coming on and looks in good touch.