Manchester City locked horns with Fulham at the Etihad Stadium earlier this afternoon looking to win and close the gap to Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the Premier League table. Raheem Sterling gave the home side the all-important lead in the fifth minute before Kevin De Bruyne scored the decisive second goal midway through the first half which put daylight between the two teams at the half-time break.
Both sides fought hard in the second 45 minutes but failed to add to the goal-tally as the contest finished 2-0 in favour of Pep Guardiola’s men.
Let’s take a look at how each Man City player fared during the match against the Cottagers.
GK: Ederson – 6.5/10
The Brazilian keeper had one nervy moment during the game but was otherwise, mostly untroubled and kept an easy clean sheet at the back.
RB: Joao Cancelo – 7.5/10
Cancelo was always willing to get himself involved in the final third and made some promising runs down the right flank, which caused a lot of problems for the Cottagers. Defensively, he didn’t have too much to do.
CB: John Stones – 7/10
Besides a mix-up with his goalkeeper Ederson on one occasion, the English centre-back bossed the game and will be happy with the clean sheet.
CB: Ruben Dias – 7/10
Dias did well to clear the danger whenever Fulham looked to threaten on the counter and produced another solid performance at the back.
LB: Benjamin Mendy – 6.5/10
Mendy performed his defensive duties well but struggled to get himself going in the opposition half.
CM: Rodri – 8/10
The Spaniard provided adequate protection for his teammates in defence and kept the Fulham attackers frustrated by dealing with the danger when needed.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 6.5/10
The German midfield ace retained possession well for his team but lacked creativity with his passing going forward.
RW: Riyad Mahrez – 8/10
The Algerian international was often outnumbered by the opposition but did well to orchestrate multiple opportunities for his teammates to score.
CAM: Kevin De Bruyne – 9/10
De Bruyne put on a show today and showed just why he is considered amongst the best players in the Premier League. He was responsible for setting up Sterling’s goal early on before going on to score himself in the 26th minute.
LW: Raheem Sterling – 7.5/10
The English speedster opened the goal-scoring in the fifth minute but should have had a few more goals to his name during the 90 minutes. He got himself into some dangerous positions but lacked quality in front of the opponent’s goal.
ST: Gabriel Jesus – 6/10
Jesus worked his socks off in the final third but didn’t get any chances to find the back of the net.
Substitutes:
None used.
