Manchester City piled the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal with a comfortable 3–0 victory over Fulham on Wednesday, cutting the gap at the top of the table to three points.
Pep Guardiola’s side, criticised in recent weeks for costly second-half lapses, ensured there would be no such drama this time by putting the game to bed before half-time. Three goals in a blistering 15-minute spell from Antoine Semenyo, Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland secured a 20th consecutive win over Fulham in all competitions.
Arsenal can restore their six-point cushion when they visit in-form Brentford on Thursday. However, the Gunners’ lead has already been slashed from nine points to three in the space of four days, reigniting City’s hopes of denying them a first league title in 22 years.
City arrived buoyed by Sunday’s dramatic 2–1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield and carried that momentum into another dominant display. January signings Semenyo and Marc Guehi have strengthened Guardiola’s squad, adding attacking thrust and defensive solidity to their title push.
Semenyo opened the scoring with his fifth goal since arriving from Bournemouth, reacting quickest after Sander Berge inadvertently diverted Matheus Nunes’ cross into his path. The Ghanaian then turned provider, setting up O’Reilly to delicately chip Bernd Leno at the end of a swift counter-attack.
Haaland, who had admitted the need to improve after scoring just once from open play in his previous 13 matches, responded in style. The Norwegian fired into the bottom corner from outside the box on 39 minutes to register his first non-penalty Premier League goal since December 20.
Guardiola later afforded Haaland a rare rest in the second half, replacing him with Omar Marmoush as City controlled proceedings.
Fulham, who had staged a remarkable comeback from 5–1 down in a 5–4 thriller between the sides in December, were unable to mount a similar challenge this time. Although City’s intensity dipped after the break, the damage had already been done as they laid down a clear marker in the title race.
AFP
