By Ethan Aspinall, Mon 26 May 2025 10:50
Fulham 0 Manchester City 2: match reportGundogan acrobatics and cool Haaland penalty seals Champions League qualification for the Blues
Manchester City travelled down to West London for their final game of the season against Fulham looking to seal a third-place finish with a win. Champions League qualification was still not absolutely guaranteed for the Blues, with Newcastle, Aston Villa, and Chelsea all just 2 points behind them but City were at the most advantageous position. Ederson started in goal. Nunes, Akanji, Dias, and Gvardiol were in defence. Gonzalez, Gundogan, and Bernardo Silva were in midfield wither Doku, Haaland, and Marmoush in attack.
The first 20 minutes were dominated by the Blues, piling plenty of pressure on Fulham. The breakthrough for City came in the 21st minute after a cross from Nunes was parried off the hands of Leno but fell aerially into the path of Gundogan who turned and hit an overhead kick which bounced off the bar and in to give City the all-important lead in spectacular fashion. A well-deserved opener. Following the first goal, Fulham picked themselves up a bit and began to ask questions of the City defence with a cross not dealt with by Gvardiol falling to Wilson who took a dangerous curling shot but was well dealt with by Ederson, who had a fantastic game.
Another big chance for Fulham came about 10 minutes later when Wilson passed the ball forwards to Traore who chipped the ball to Cairney who’s volley was blocked by the defence before the rebound fell to Pereira, who sent his shot wide of the far post. Ederson then made another great save when Wilson took a left-footed effort towards the far post but had his attempt denied by the goalkeeper with the ball then finding its way to Pereira again, but the angle was too difficult and the ball found itself in the side netting.
City made yet another strong start to the second half with an opportunity for Gvardiol who picked up a header from a cross in from Gundogan, but the effort was blocked by the face of Leno, keeping the lead a slim one. A few Fulham changes and they were still looking for an equaliser. A moment of madness for Ederson led Jimenez to have a shot on goal from 30 yards but he sent the shot well high above the crossbar. Five minutes later, a foul from Lukic on Gundogan in the penalty area led the referee to point to the spot with no hesitation. Haaland, who shied away from a penalty in the FA cup final last week, cooly stepped up and slotted the ball left sending Leno the wrong way to double the Blues lead and surely secure Champions League football. There was another penalty shout for Fulham in the 88th minute after a block from Dias which struck his arm, but the call was checked and cleared by VAR. Kevin De Bruyne came on to make his final appearance of his City career following an emotional Etihad farewell. The full time whistled sounded and the final result was 2-0 to City and a locked in third place finish.
So a tough season comes to an end for the Blues, but there is hardly a chance to relax in the Summer, with a busy transfer window incoming with inevitable ins and outs for City to contribute to the needed rebuild so they are back challenging for the major tournaments next year. There is also the matter of the Club World Cup for City too, with their first game in that tournament coming in just over three weeks in the USA. A third and final matter to think about is whatever is happening with the court case – surely the verdict cannot be far, many have predicted it to have been out by now, but we find ourselves still waiting. It cannot be much longer
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