LONDON — One look at the Premier League table and it seems the title race is on, but it is days like these when Manchester City make it look like a foregone conclusion.
Heading into the final week of the season, City lead Arsenal by two points with two games remaining. So then, where does a thrilling adventure reach its dramatic climax? Probably not. City are going all out in the trophy fight and took another step towards a record fourth consecutive title with a 4-0 win over Fulham on Saturday.
Away from home, an early kick-off, against a team that had nothing to lose; The journey to Craven Cottage must have involved at least some danger. But Pep Guardiola’s serial winners are in no danger when there is silverware at stake, and after collecting three more points, they can sit back and watch Arsenal try to defeat visiting Manchester United on Sunday. Can.
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Arsenal have won only once at Old Trafford in the last 18 years, and anything less than a win this weekend will cost City any chance of winning the title when they return to London to play Tottenham on Tuesday. It’s within touching distance.
Guardiola said afterwards, “It was a good performance except for five or 10 minutes.” “We have two games left, so go back to Manchester and come back to London soon to play Spurs. Now just focus on recovery. It’s good to play now because we play early. On Monday we prepare, at home Sleep and then come here on Tuesday. Since (Arsenal) lost against Villa (2-0 on April 14), destiny is in our hands.”
Big moments can sometimes bring forth unlikely heroes, and Josco Guardiol has stepped into the race for City. The 22-year-old defender had gone more than a year without a goal, but after scoring twice against Fulham, he now has four goals in his last five league games.
He took all the nerves away with the first goal of the game at Nottingham Forest two weeks ago and did the same here. Cutting inside from the left, he latched onto the ball from Kevin De Bruyne, took an expert touch on Issa Diop’s pass and calmly curled his finish into the corner. That’s the €90 million you get, even if he is considered a keeper.
“After the first long possession of the ball, our winger Josko scored a wonderful goal,” Guardiola said with a smile. As the ball hit the net, Guardiola did not change his stony expression and instead simply acknowledged the significance of the goal with a closed fist. Dressed in a thick woolen sweater in the London sunshine, he was still best man inside Craven Cottage.
City’s control was such that it took almost an hour for Fulham to register a shot and almost immediately after, Phil Foden made it 2–0. His 25th goal of the season was due to Bernardo Silva’s skilful effort to cross Antoine Robinson and run inside, but Foden’s finish was cool and precise – much like City’s performance. Only after that goal did Guardiola allow himself to smile. There will be two more games like this and a few more at the end of the season.
“I think they like to play with pressure,” Guardiola said. “They have incredible personalities. Players who enjoy playing with that pressure. If you lose games you lose the Premier League, they know that. Don’t think about anything else other than the next game. See what happens. Go to London, perform well, try to win the game.”
When Guardiol scored his second goal from Silva’s cross, the City fans behind the goal flocked throughout Poznan, usually a sign that the game was over and the fun had begun. With the score at 3–0, Guardiola began to turn his attention to Spurs and – depending on Arsenal’s result at United – a possible title party. De Bruyne was soon replaced, with Foden and Erling Haaland following soon after.
By the end, the Fulham fans had become so discouraged by City’s relentlessness that when the board went up to show seven minutes of stoppage time, loud groans came from the stands. They wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible, and after the brutal efficiency practiced by Guardiola’s team, who could blame them? They wanted a quick conclusion and in the 96th minute substitute Julian Alvarez was brought down in the area by Diop – who was shown a second yellow card and sent off – then the penalty was converted.
If there was any result to eliminate any remaining optimism from Arsenal, this was it. When the final whistle finally blew, City’s players stepped forward to applaud their fans and were serenaded with a chorus of “Champions Again”. It’s hard to make a case for anything else.
