SAN FRANCISCO, December 06, (THEWILL) – Pep Guardiola’s 250th game in charge of Manchester City was celebrated with a win at the Etihad Stadium as goals from English forward Raheem Sterling and playmaker Kevin De Bruyne gave them a 2-0 win over Fulham in the Premier League.
City imposed their gameplan on the fixture from the kick-off. The effervescent Sterling forced a fine near-post save from Alphonse Areola, in goal for Fulham, in the third minute.
The hosts were ahead shortly after when Sterling again took control of a slick De Bruyne pass and calmly slotted the ball past Areola.
The pressure from City came at Fulham like waves and it was all the visitors could do to soak it up. But, Scott Parker’s tactical plan to keep the match competitive was in tatters when his captain Joachim Andersen upended Sterling in the box. It was a Premier League record for Sterling as he reached the 20th penalty win of his career, more than more than any other player.
De Bruyne put his last penalty miss against Liverpool aside and converted a confident spot-kick that sent Areola the wrong way. Areola was called upon again to keep out a Sterling volley making sure that City went into the break with no more than two goals.
De Bruyne kept up providing the impetus for City’s attacks in the second period. He even struck the crossbar after he combined well with Gabriel Jesus in the 50th minute.
The hosts turned on the cruise control for the remainder of the game. Though Ivan Cavaleiro briefly let some sparks fly for Fulham when he cut inside the box, he saw his trying effort saved by City keeper Ederson.
There was still time for one more City goal attempt as centre back Ruben Dias met De Bruyne’s deep cross at the back post. He failed to direct his effort on target and the effort went to waste.
After a very patchy start to their Premier League campaign, City have strung together back-to-back victories for the first time this season. With the win Guardiola notched up a victory for the 700th game of his managerial career.
City face Marseille next in their final Champions League group game on Wednesday. For Fulham, they expect league champions Liverpool at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
