Kovacic Shines As Manchester City Stages A Comeback Against Fulham

Manchester City showed their resilience, coming from behind to defeat Fulham 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium.

This win marked City’s fourth consecutive home game this season in which they fell behind, ultimately preserving their unbeaten league start, which now stretches to an impressive 30 matches.

First Half Drama

From the start, the match was filled with intensity and early opportunities.

Manchester City, known for their attacking quality, saw İlkay Gündoğan and Erling Haaland both come close to opening the scoring in the early stages.

However, it was Fulham who struck first with a beautifully executed goal. An exquisite outside-of-the-boot pass from Raúl Jiménez unlocked the City defense, releasing Adama Traoré into space. Traoré’s shot, however, was met by the swift reactions of Ederson, who kept City on level terms, preventing an early deficit.

But Ederson’s heroics proved to be a fleeting reprieve for the hosts. Fulham quickly capitalized on their pressure when another deft flick from Jiménez found Andreas Pereira. The Brazilian volleyed his effort beautifully into the net, giving the Cottagers a deserved 1-0 lead.

Fulham’s spirits were high, and they almost doubled their advantage shortly after, as a rapid counter-attack saw Alex Iwobi set up Traoré yet again.

However, Traoré’s attempt went over the bar, a miss that would haunt the visitors moments later when City struck back against the run of play.

Mateo Kovačić, who had been in a goal drought since joining City, unleashed a thunderous shot from the edge of the area that took a critical deflection off Joachim Andersen, leveling the score at 1-1.

Second Half

With the momentum shifting, both teams came out strong for the second half.

Just two minutes in, Kovačić found the back of the net again, calmly guiding the ball into the corner from the edge of the box after receiving a clever pass. He had now matched his total of Premier League goals for the club in just one fantastic afternoon, putting City ahead 2-1.

But Fulham wasn’t about to relent. Once again, Traoré was put through, and after another heart-stopping duel with Ederson, the Brazilian managed to stop him. Despite pressure from Marco Silva’s side, City’s defense held firm.

Late Dramas

As tensions rose, Manchester City demonstrated their clinical edge, leading to a moment of pure brilliance from Jérémy Doku. Cutting in from the left, Doku unleashed a powerful strike into the top-right corner, leaving Fulham’s goalkeeper Bernd Leno with no chance and extending City’s lead to 3-1.

However, the drama was far from over. In the closing minutes, Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz capitalized on a defensive lapse and managed to spiral a shot into the top corner of the net, bringing the away side back to within one goal.

Despite the frantic efforts from Fulham to secure an equalizer, City’s defense stood tall.

Manchester City secured a thrilling 3-2 victory, maintaining their unbeaten streak and continuing their dominance at home, which now extends to 50 competitive matches without loss within 90 minutes.