Fulham 0-4 Manchester City: Gvardiol double sees off Cottagers and takes Citizens top

Manchester City will be top of the Premier League table for at least 24 hours after defeating Fulham 4-0 at Craven Cottage, setting a new English record of 16 consecutive wins in all competitions over a fellow top-flight opponent.

City led after 13 minutes against their most profitable opponents.

Josko Gvardiol picked up the ball on the left wing and played a neat one-two with Kevin De Bruyne before cutting inside and into the Fulham box and slotting the ball past Bernd Leno with a striker's finish.

From there on out, it was one-way traffic; Erling Haaland missed a chance after a mix-up between Calvin Bassey and Leno, and the German keeper was forced to save from Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden.

Pep Guardiola's side should have added a second shortly before halftime when De Bruyne swung in a cross to an unmarked Manuel Akanji inside the six-yard box, but the defender volleyed over the crossbar.

Fulham turned to substitute Adama Traore at half-time in an attempt to carve out their first attempt of the match, and Marco Silva's plan almost worked when Traore found Rodrigo Muniz in the box in the 57th minute, but Muniz's compatriot Ederson saved the flicked effort.

The champions responded, and two minutes later Silva drove to the edge of the box.

He was stopped by a crunching Joao Palhinha tackle, but the loose ball fell to Foden, who hit the bottom corner of Leno's net.

That goal meant City had scored at least twice in nine consecutive trips to the Cottage.

Inside the final 20 minutes, the Citizens confirmed their two-point lead over Arsenal when Silva's cross was met at the back post by Gvardiol, who stayed onside and squirmed his shot under Leno to put his side ahead 3-0 and double his season goal tally in one afternoon.

Deep into injury time, Issa Diop was sent off for a second bookable offence after bringing Julian Alvarez down inside the area, and the Argentinian stepped up and converted the penalty to seal the victory.

The Cottagers have been without a point against City since September 2011, while City are on a seven-match winning streak and two victories away from a fourth consecutive title.

SportsLigue