Manchester City’s defensive vulnerabilities were exposed once again as they narrowly edged out Fulham 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Despite dominating possession, City’s backline was breached twice, highlighting the need for improvement according to manager Pep Guardiola.
Fulham’s attacking prowess was evident, with Adama Traoré squandering three gilt-edged opportunities, including two one-on-one situations thwarted by Éderson. Guardiola acknowledged that his team was fortunate to escape with a win, praising Fulham’s exceptional performance.
“We know we can do better defensively, and it’s an area we’ll continue to work on,” Guardiola said. “Fulham was incredibly tough to handle, and Marco Silva has done a fantastic job with his team. They’ve been playing some great football, and we knew it wouldn’t be an easy game.”
City’s inability to keep a clean sheet has become a recurring theme, with their last shutout in the Premier League dating back to the opening weekend. However, their attacking flair ultimately proved decisive, with Mateo Kovacic’s brace and Jérémy Doku’s strike securing the win.
Guardiola refused to dwell on his team’s defensive shortcomings, instead opting to praise Fulham’s impressive display. “Sometimes we need to give credit to our opponents,” he said. “That first goal was an incredible piece of skill from Raúl Jiménez. Let’s acknowledge that rather than focusing solely on our defensive mistakes.”
Fulham boss Marco Silva, meanwhile, was left ruing his team’s failure to capitalize on their dominant performance. “We should be unhappy with the result, but our performance was excellent,” he said. “We deserved more from the game, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”
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