The hosts kept the pressure on Liverpool at the top of the Premier League with a hard-fought 3-2 win, largely thanks to their Croatian midfielder
Manchester City recovered from a goal behind against Fulham as two efforts from Mateo Kovacic, and one from Jeremy Doku, ensured Pep Guardiola's side closed the gap at the summit to just a single point.
City received an early warning of Fulham's threat when Adama Traore raced clear one-on-one, only to be denied by Ederson. But in the 26th minute, Marco Silva's side did take a surprise lead – Alex Iwobi finding Raul Jimenez in the area before the striker produced an exquisite back-heel flick into the six-yard box, which Andreas Pereira pounced upon to score.
The visitors should have made it 2-0 moments later when they broke with three players on two, but Traore blazed his shot over the bar from close range. And City made their opponents pay when Kovacic turned the game on its head with two goals either side of half-time. The Croatian midfielder smashed a loose ball into the net from a corner in the 32nd minute and added a second shortly after the restart with a fine finish beyond Bernd Leno.
Fulham pushed in search of an equalisier but their efforts faded when Doku sealed the win with a brilliant strike into the top corner in the 82nd minute. Rodrigo Muniz gave the London side a glimmer of hope very late on but they were unable to find a third.
This wasn't a divine City performance – Traore was guilty of another missed one-on-one in the second half – but they did enough to secure all three points as they head off for the international break.
GOAL rates City's players from Etihad Stadium…
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Ederson (7/10):
Alert when called upon, denying Traore on two separate occasions as the Spaniard raced clear one-on-one.
Rico Lewis (6/10):
Didn't receive much support in what was a difficult matchup against the athletic duo of Antonee Robinson and Traore, but coped well.
Manuel Akanji (6/10):
Made a great challenge to stop Traore on a break but was slow to react to Jimenez's back-heel for Fulham's opener.
Ruben Dias (6/10):
A typically solid performance from City's leader, although he won't be happy about conceding twice at home.
Josko Gvardiol (7/10):
Provided a potentially goal-saving block to thwart Jimenez in the 76th minute.
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Mateo Kovacic (8/10):
Turned the game around with his two goals. Kevin De Bruyne's absence will be felt a lot less if Kovacic remains this influential going forwards.
Ilkay Gundogan (6/10):
Doesn't possess the same physicality that helps make Rodri such a force in City's midfield, and this may cause issues against more clinical opponents.
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Bernardo Silva (7/10):
City looked more threatening down the right than the left thanks to Silva's constant probing. Provided the assist for Kovacic's second.
Phil Foden (6/10):
Handed his first start in the league this season and couldn't repeat his heroics from midweek, but not for a lack of trying. Should continue to improve as he gets more minutes.
Jack Grealish (5/10):
Failed to provide much of a threat down City's left and was replaced by Doku after an hour.
Erling Haaland (6/10):
A frustrating afternoon for the Norwegian, who was left to feed on scraps. That's now back-to-back league games in which he hasn't scored which, for Haaland, is incomprehensible.
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Kyle Walker (5/10):
Traore's pace is well known but the sight of the full-back being easily beaten to the ball in a straight sprint was a concern.
Jeremy Doku (7/10):
Scored a brilliant goal to seal all three points. The Belgian scared Fulham's defenders significantly more than Grealish did.
John Stones (6/10):
Handed 10 minutes as City tried to see out the game. Couldn't do anything about Muniz's late goal.
Matheus Nunes (N/A):
Not enough time to make an impact.
Pep Guardiola (6/10):
The City boss will have some concerns about the quality of chances Fulham created throughout the game. Rodri's absence was sorely felt in this one, but the international break affords Guardiola some time to think things through.
