Analysis: Manchester City

Pep Guardiola made four changes in personnel from the home victory over Newcastle. Nicolas Otamendi and Fabian Delph came into the back line, as John Stones took a seat on the bench and full-back Benjamin Mendy missed out through injury. In attack, Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus were named as substitutes, with Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sane taking up their usual roles in a 4-3-3 formation.

City got off to a blistering start, scoring from their opening attack of the game. They piled early pressure on to Fulham’s first attempt to build short from the goalkeeper, with Fernandinho surging on to a loose pass from Jean Michael Seri before crossing for Leroy Sane to tap home at the far post. With their opponents looking expansive in possession, City continued to threaten on the break. Raheem Sterling and Sane – who switched sides throughout the first half – were afforded huge spaces in wide areas.

In contrast to the system played against Newcastle, Kyle Walker and Fabian Delph rarely moved inside with the ball to play as inverted full-backs. This was largely a result of the visitors’ defensive set-up, which contained a very narrow central midfield trio and front line. By providing width in their own back line, City could build around the congested central lane and progress the ball using combinations in the wide areas and inside channel, rather than through the middle.

When in possession, Walker and Delph were aggressively pressed by forwards Andre Schurrle and Luciano Vietto – and the cover shadow of the Fulham forwards subsequently blocked off access into David Silva and Bernardo Siva. City’s central midfielders then alternatively started to drop in front of the away side’s midfield unit, rather than remaining behind it. With Fulham so occupied in blocking off the central lane, City focused on the wide areas, where Sane and Sterling were providing maximum width from touchline to touchline.

The relationship between David Silva and Sane proved particularly fruitful. Late runs forward along the inside channels from the former provided additional space for the latter to either cut inside and use the space created by the Spaniard’s movement, or play his teammate in behind. They combined well along the left, from where they created a host of chances.

Fulham briefly managed to create sustained spells of possession, as they tried to force the ball forward to their progressive full-backs. But with their back line converting from a four to a three, they struggled to cover the width of the pitch. Sane and Sterling frequently displayed their devastating speed on the break, and the latter almost grabbed his team’s second goal, only to see his effort crash back off the crossbar.

Sterling and Sane regularly swapped sides, but they looked more effective in their regular positions, with Sane continuing to combine well with David Silva on the left. They eventually grabbed a second goal, which originated from a Fulham throw-in deep in City’s half. After a quick regain and smooth build against intense pressure, their excellent short passing soon had them over halfway. The front trio occupied the entire Fulham back four, creating additional room for the likes of Otamendi to step into midfield and lure attackers away from the wide areas. Having worked their way into the penalty area, David Silva eventually smashed home from close range after some excellent work from Bernardo Silva.

Fulham’s wingers dropped deeper from their high-pressing structure into a mid-block that allowed City’s full-backs to advance higher. Sane and Sterling started to move back inside, overloading their opponents’ tight central midfield trio. The ballside winger would step infield, providing the central passing option that Laporte and Otamendi had been searching for. However, this meant they now had a far less stable structure to block counter-attacks. With Walker and Delph ahead of the ball, and Otamendi or Laporte stepping into midfield, they lacked the numbers to hamper early forward passing from their opponents.

Fulham couldn’t match the quality of the hosts in their attacking transitions, however, and City had the game wrapped up in the opening moments of the second half. Ryan Sessegnon’s cross deep inside the City half was blocked, allowing the home side to counter-attack through the now vacant left-back position. David Silva set Aguero away along City’s right, from where the striker crossed for Sterling to net the game-killing third.

The hosts made wonderful use of the third man to dominate the ball for the remainder of the encounter. As Walker received in the wide area from the back line, Sterling would step inside, allowing his teammate to travel with the ball. The ball-side central midfielder – usually Bernardo Silva in the second half – would then come tight to the ball, drawing additional defenders to both the ball and themselves. This created just enough space for Sterling to make a blindside run into the final third. Quick first-time passes between Walker and Bernardo Silva ensured regular progression into the final third.

City’s play on the left side was similarly problematic for Fulham. Delph’s inside positioning narrowed the visitors’ central structure even further, which created additional space for Sane to attack Cyrus Christie one against one. David Silva would then perform moves forward to match those of Bernardo Silva on City’s right. Combinations within the inside channel allowed for two-against-one opportunities against tiring full-backs, creating cutback crossing options as they searched for the fourth goal that perhaps surprisingly never came.