By Ken Afor
Manchester City took a major step towards an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title with a dominant 4-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The win propelled Pep Guardiola’s side to the top of the table with just one week remaining in the season.
The Citizens made light work of their London opposition, with goals from Josko Gvardiol who scored a brace, Phil Foden, and Julian Alvarez sealing a convincing win – their seventh straight league triumph and 16th consecutive victory against Fulham across all competitions.
City now sits on 85 points from 36 matches, two points clear of Arsenal who have a game in hand against Manchester United on Sunday. However, the reigning champions have a relatively comfortable path remaining with a mid-week trip to Tottenham before hosting West Ham in their final match.
The Croatian defender Gvardiol opened the scoring after 13 minutes, finishing off a neat exchange with Kevin De Bruyne. Foden doubled the lead just before the hour mark, while Gvardiol added his second by sliding in at the back post to convert Bernardo Silva’s cross.
Alvarez capped the rout from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time after being fouled by the sent-off Issa Diop. With former Oasis star Noel Gallagher among the celebrating City faithful, the ruthless performance typified their recent relentless form as they close in on more Premier League glory.
“The great players enjoy playing with great pressure,” Guardiola said. “These players in the last few years have been able to do it and we are again in the latter stages.
“Our dream is as we said a few weeks ago when they (Arsenal) lost against Aston Villa was to arrive in the last games with it in our hands, to play West Ham at home with the destiny belonging to us. We did a really good job today.”
City sets a new English Premier League record for consecutive wins by one club over another as they beat Fulham yet again.
