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Bray: What Pep Guardiola did before Erling Haaland penalty confirms Man City doubts

The moments you might have missed as Manchester City secured Champions League qualification on the final game of the season at Fulham.

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Manchester City will play Champions League football next season after beating Fulham on Kevin De Bruyne's final match for the club.

De Bruyne is almost certain not to be involved in the Club World Cup, meaning his late cameo at Craven Cottage was likely to be his last act in a City shirt.

Ilkay Gundogan's overhead kick and Erling Haaland's penalty were enough to get the three points City needed to finish third as a frustrating season ends on a high note.

These are the moments you might have missed from Manchester City's final-day trip at Fulham.

Bernardo's reaction says it all

The chance looked to have gone when Matheus Nunes' attempt at a close-range chip was thwarted by Bernd Leno, only for the looping ball to be smashed into the back of the net via the bar from an audacious Ilkay Gundogan overhead kick.

Gundogan doesn't often score but when he does he is quietly capable of the sublime. Wembley in 2023 was outrageous in how early it was against Manchester United, while his acrobatic flick against Everton in the same run-in was arguably a better finish. He single-handedly led City to the brink of the treble that season before leaving. He has recovered from a patchy run on his return this season to end the campaign strongly again.

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This run-in has lacked goals, however, even if it has seen him restored as a regular as City finally found a formula that worked. However, having cleverly slipped in Bernardo Silva against Bournemouth a few days ago, here he was rolling back the years and sending City back to the Champions League.

As the City players ran off to celebrate with Gundogan, Bernardo couldn't believe what he'd seen and had his hands on his head as he raced to join the goalscorer. A fitting end to a season that hasn't gone perfectly for Gundogan - but City will dread to think where they would have been without him.

Dias gesture and Guardiola reaction

Pep Guardiola insisted pre-match that he wouldn't intervene in the penalty-taking process despite Omar Marmoush's miss in the FA Cup final. However, there was a little reminder that 'everybody knows who the taker is,' perhaps aimed in the direction of Haaland.

Plenty of attention has been given to Haaland's decision to pass up responsibility at Wembley, but it was never in doubt at Craven Cottage as Ruben Dias quickly held onto the ball after Gundogan was tripped and Haaland composed his thoughts.

When the penalty was given, Dias handed the ball to Haaland and offered a big hug before the number nine placed the ball on the spot. Guardiola walked a few paces away from his dugout, before letting a huge double fist-pump into the West London sky, full of relief, as Haaland rolled the ball into the goal. He will be thankful that the penalty 'issue' is resolved before the summer.

Dias leads by example

While Guardiola said he didn't want to intervene with penalties, he will think about his role in electing City's next captain. He won't entertain talk of Kyle Walker returning and De Bruyne is off. So that puts Dias in prime position to succeed De Bruyne as skipper and the Portuguese has been conducting his own audition for weeks now.

He delivered a passionate huddle before kick off at Fulham and covered his mouth having spotted the TV camera peeking in between legs. He berated Nico Gonzalez for a poor pass back to defence that put him under pressure and kept returning to the point for the next few minutes.

It was Dias who took control of the penalty situation, holding the ball for Haaland and delivering that motivational hug. And the respect for De Bruyne was clear as he jogged over to pass the armband before De Bruyne had even come on. It's an armband Dias clearly wants full time while still respecting the hierarchy.

It remains to be seen whether the audition has been enough or Guardiola will in fact intervene and select someone himself.

Fans mock United from the start

There were the expected renditions of 'Oh Kevin De Bruyne' from the away end on Sunday, enjoying their relatively stress-free final day in a stadium that always seems to save its best weather for the visit of the Blues.

De Bruyne received huge ovations as he wandered from the tunnel in the corner to the bench on the opposite side at the start of both halves, but as soon as the game began there was only one song on the lips of the travelling faithful.

With Manchester United losing the Europa League final and confirming a lack of any European football this week, City fans took great glee in stealing a United chant paying tribute to manager Ruben Amorim. From the first minute, Craven Cottage only had one soundtrack: "Ruben Amorim, they're never gonna win again, crying in the Stretford End, the Reds are going down.'

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City fans will revel in travelling the continent for another season while United are stuck at home. When Haaland scored from the spot to seal the Champions League return, the away end did a celebratory Poznan, before turning round and resuming their Amorim chant.

It was still going as the away end filtered out of Fulham and back up North. Expect it to be a fan favourite by the time City are back in August.

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