It certainly wasn’t easy, but Manchester City managed to beat Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
A Rodri-less Man City were made to work for the three points by a spirited Fulham side, even falling behind in the game thanks to a goal from Andreas Pereira in the 26th minute.
A brace from Mateo Kovacic and a goal from Jeremy Doku would eventually make it 3-1 to City, before a late Rodrigo Muniz goal put a nervy end to the game. In the end, however, Pep Guardiola’s team managed to hold firm and won 3-2.
Here are Man City’s best and worst players in the win against Fulham, according to 90 minutes player ratings.
Mateo Kovacic: 9/10
As Rodri’s replacement Man Citymidfield, it’s fair to say that Mateo Kovacic has his work cut out for him in the coming months.
On Saturday, he certainly showed that he is capable of filling the boots of Ballon d’Or nominees.
The Croatian, as Rodri has been on so many occasions in recent years, proved to be Man City’s match-winner at the weekend. Kovacic’s two goals, the second of which shows great finesse, were the reason the Citizens go into the international just one point behind Liverpool. First Leaguee table instead of four.
Ilkay Gundogan: 5/10
While his midfield team-mate was firing on goals on Saturday, it was pretty clear that Ilkay Gundogan had left his shooting boots at home.
Having made a rather worrying number of appearances since rejoining the club, Gundogan spurned some decent chances in Saturday’s game. He needs to find his best form in front of goal again soon, or he could be out of the starting line-up.
