Looking at the Premier League standings, it seems like there is a competition for the crown, but on days like today, Manchester City makes it seem more certain.
With two games left in the season, City leads Arsenal by two points going into the final week. So, as an exciting campaign approaches its dramatic conclusion, everything is up for grabs? Most likely not. With their 4-0 victory against Fulham on Saturday, City furthered their march towards a historic fourth straight championship, further squeezing the life out of the trophy chase.
There should have been some danger in the journey to Craven Cottage—an early start, away from home, against a side with nothing to lose. But when it comes to winning trophies, Pep Guardiola’s team of repeat winners never backs down, so after securing three more points, they can relax and watch Arsenal struggle to stay up when they play Manchester United on Sunday.
Arsenal has only triumphed once at Old Trafford in the previous eighteen years, so a loss this weekend will give City the opportunity to secure the championship when they visit Tottenham on Tuesday in London. It’s close enough to touch.
After the game, Guardiola said, “It was a good performance except for five or ten minutes.” “Go back to Manchester and quickly return to London to play Spurs; we have two games remaining. Just concentrate on getting well now. We play early, therefore it’s excellent to play now. On Monday we get ready, spend the night at home, and on Tuesday we arrive. Since [Arsenal] suffered a [2-0] loss to Villa on April 14, we control our own fate. That is our desired outcome.”
Unexpected heroes may sometimes emerge from big events, and Josko Gvardiol has stood up for City in the last seconds. After scoring twice against Fulham, the 22-year-old defender has now netted four goals in his last five league games. Prior to this, he had not scored a goal in almost a year.
He calmed everyone down against Nottingham Forest two weeks ago by scoring the game’s first goal, and he did the same here. Making a cut inside from left-back, he took a clever touch past Issa Diop, bounced the ball off Kevin De Bruyne, and finished coolly into the corner.
“Our winger Josko scores a fantastic goal after the first long possession with the ball,” said Guardiola. Guardiola remained unflappable as the ball struck the net, only raising his clenched fist to indicate how important the goal was. Inside Craven Cottage, he remained the coolest guy, even in the London heat, all dressed in a thick wool jumper.
Because of City’s dominance, Fulham waited over an hour to muster a shot, and Phil Foden doubled the score practically shortly after. Foden’s calm and precise finish, akin to City’s performance, was the result of Bernardo Silva’s deft move past Antonee Robinson and driving run inside for his 25th goal of the season. Only after that goal did Guardiola give himself permission to grin. There will be a couple more games similar to this before the conclusion of the season, after these two.
Guardiola said, “I get the impression they prefer to play under pressure.” “They have fascinating personalities. Gamers who take pleasure in playing under such strain. They know that if they lose, they will not win the Premier League. Just focus on the next game and nothing else. Watch the outcome. Travel to London, do your all, and aim to win the match.”
The City supporters behind the goal let out a full Poznan after Gvardiol scored his second from Silva’s cross, which is often a sign that the game is done and the good times are about to begin. With the score at 3-0, Guardiola started thinking about Spurs and the possibility of a championship celebration, dependent on Arsenal’s performance against United. De Bruyne was swiftly replaced, and Erling Haaland and Foden came on board shortly after.
By the end, the intensity of City’s tactics had so demoralised the Fulham supporters that there were audible moans from the terraces as the board rose to indicate seven minutes of stoppage time. They were eager for it to end, and who could blame them after Guardiola’s team’s display of merciless efficiency? They had every reason to want the match to end quickly, and in the ninetieth minute, replacement Julián Álvarez was fouled by Diop, who was sent out after receiving a second yellow card. Diop subsequently converted the penalty.
This was the kind of outcome that might have sapped Arsenal’s last shred of hope. The players from City walked over to cheer on their supporters after the final whistle sounded, and they were greeted with a song of “champions again.” It is difficult to argue for anything different.
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At Fulham, Man City demonstrates how to handle championship pressure.
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