Tick. Tick. Tick. At the top of this breezy, a laugh, quietly feisty 2-1 defeat of Fulham, there used to be even a way of super-smart design in Pep Guardiola’s onfield presentations of love.
There used to be a double-hug for John Stones: each fingers across the torso plus a last flurry of buttock pats for the important thing defensive peg at the present eight-match successful league run. Guardiola hugged Jack Grealish, simply because he loves hugging Jack Grealish.
With Erling Haaland, who used to be once more sensationally just right right here, he lingered slightly longer within the embody, all of the whilst rabbiting repeatedly within the ahead’s ear, combining even right here the sensual‑however‑fatherly guy‑hug with fevered directions about running the excessive press .
Is it supposed to really feel this simple? Even within the difficult bits? City at the moment are best of the league on issues for the primary time on this by no means‑finishing season. Fulham gave them a just right recreation, however now not a terrible one. And on the finish of that 9‑month run to the twine, the type of name race the place extra mortal groups may be expecting to splutter just a bit, the endgame feels nearer to a high-end tasting menu, a sequence of pleasant small plates, simply digested.
This used to be nonetheless a day to exhibit two key portions of the treble‑push from right here. First, the most obvious attacking power (clue: he is Norwegian and tall). And 2d, the only semi-theoretical weak spot that comes hand in hand with Stones’s supremely neatly‑finished position within the present defensive set-up.
Zooming out, in all probability probably the most vital second of the afternoon used to be Fulham’s first‑part purpose, which got here from a path City will all the time have to regulate and mitigate, the soccer identical of that pesky unguarded Death Star air flow shaft the Imperial architects all the time appear to lose within the strategy planning stage.
Carlos Vinícius produced a very good end after a swift diagonal cross into City’s one street of uncertainty, the gap subsequent to the centre-backs when ownership has simply been became over. This is a calculated chance. Previously City would depart house at the back of the full-backs since the recreation used to be all about growing attacking overloads at the flanks.
Now that house is vacated when one member of the again 4 steps into deep midfield. City nonetheless have 3 precise defenders plus Rodri to near this house. Stepping into midfield is so much decrease chance than faucet‑dancing across the nook flag. But it’s nonetheless a whisper of one thing. Real Madrid will indubitably be eagerly finding out the Fulham blueprint (a sentence this is without a doubt its personal variation at the Google-whack).
Otherwise this used to be some other wonderful win, and some other day of Haaland stuff. Before kick‑off the avid gamers had coated up below a good looking comfortable heat overdue April sky at Craven Cottage, London’s maximum bijou, period-features, Victorian terrace more or less flooring.
These are the salad days of the Pep‑City technology. Here is a City crew drowning in honey, with 13 wins now in 14 video games and 47 targets scored, purring thru their mature phases of Total Coherence. If the challenge feels slightly controlled and political, a marker for a dictatorship, the wonderful thing about the crew and the likable brilliance of the avid gamers nonetheless provides probably the most splendidly distracting glaze.
The Fulham PA used to be a minimum of hopeful sooner than kick-off. “City with out Kevin De Bruyne … so obviously a huge weak spot for them. Mmm. Shall we simply see?
It took 1min 29sec for City to find their first foothold. The goal was made by Kyle Walker’s fine flat crossfield pass, by Grealish’s perfect catch on the run, and by Riyad Mahrez’s lovely touch and shimmy inside, a dip of the hips that took him straight into the planted foot of Tim Ream.
Haaland buried the penalty. It took him to 34 goals in the Premier League, a record‑equaling tally in the rebranded top tier. It has been an astonishingly fine and relentless goalscoring season – plus, as Pep has been keen to point out, one of linking, press and team-play, too. Haaland will be the obvious Ballon d’Or choice if City see off their next two Champions League opponents.
And Guardiola’s consistent refinement has created one thing new, nonetheless devastating however with different gears too. With an hour long gone Fulham had begun to press in small packs, growing that rarest of items, sustained drive. Stones smashed a protracted clearance to ease the drive. Haaland picked it up and simply charged instantly at 4 white shirts, dipping into that natural sprinter’s velocity, acceleration that comes with none visual effort (Haaland is steadily portrayed as a type of Iron Giant: however he’s a real rapid‑twitch athlete). Fulham muddled a nook out of it. City held the ball for 5 mins. How’s that drive coming alongside?
Fulham had their moments. But with 35 mins long gone City have been 2-1 up, Julian Álvarez the goalscorer with a work of brilliance picked out of the air, a startling shot that rose and fell and dipped over the flailing hand of Bernd Leno. Ten video games to win all of it from right here. That clock continues to tick down.