BY JAMIE WOOLLEN

Fulham’s away trip to Manchester was plagued by train strikes, torrential rain, but still just under 2,000 fans made the journey to the Etihad to watch Fulham take on Manchester City. 

Man City came into the fixture needing 3 points to go above Arsenal and top of the Premier League, with Fulham still quietly chipping away at the minor European positions, who’d of thought? 

Fulham made 3 changes from the 0-0 home draw against Everton, welcoming Kenny Tete back at right back, as well as Carlos Vinicius coming in to replace the rested Mitrovic. Harry Wilson grabbed his 2nd league start of the season, following an unfortunate ruptured Achilles for fans favourite Neeskens Kebano in training, all the best Keba.

Man City went strong as usual with the inclusion of Julian Alvarez and old friend of Denis Odoi’s Jack Grealish, meaning Erling Haaland and Phil Foden started on the bench. 

The game kicked off with a sense of inevitability about it as City started well, however Fulham came into this game, as has been a trend this season, with a more settled defensive feeling that can lend to being able to step up to the bigger sides in the league. Kevin De Bruyne stung the finger tips of Bernd Leno early on with a shot from 25 years, however Fulham seemed established in a game where Man City were heavily favoured. Unfortunately, that seemed to be quashed 16 minutes in, as Julian Alvarez ran free powering past Bernd Leno, with similar aplomb we’ve seen from his counterpart on the bench. Alvarez was dangerous the 64 minutes he was on the pitch, showing the real strength in depth this City side have. 1-0.

At 1-0, the game could’ve gone either way for Fulham. In previous years, it wouldn’t have been out of the question to be 3 or 4 down by the half, but this team seems more settled in moments like these and can stay in a game when behind. This was vindicated when Harry Wilson was set through on goal, almost certain to make 1-1. But for a push in the back from Joao Cancelo, who did leave a bit of stud in on the way down for good measure. The Portugal man was shown a straight red for his troubles, not great news for my FPL team but posed a great opportunity for Fulham to get back into the game against a weakened 10 man Man City.

Usually it’d of been Mitro stood over the pen, his absence left the responsibility down to Andreas Pereira from 12 yards seeking his 2nd goal for Fulham. He stepped up and cooly dispatched past Ederson, wheeling away with his finger to his ear, attempting to hear an already muted Etihad crowd. No surprises there.

Going into the 2nd half, Fulham found themselves with the upper hand away at the Etihad, which is not something many teams coming there can say at any point in the game. Erling Haaland and Phil Foden were lurking on the Man City bench, and it was more of a case of not if but when they would be introduced to try and win the 3 points for City. That moment came on 64 minutes where Erling Haaland was brought on for Julian Alvarez. Despite not threatening the City goal much, Fulham continued to look defensively resolute and to be honest, who wouldn’t take a point away at Man City?

It did only take Haaland 11 minutes to have an impact on the game, getting onto the end of a De Bruyne cross, a combination we’ve all seen far too much this season. However, VAR deemed the Norwegian centre forward to have strayed offside as the ball was sent in, a big let off for Fulham. We thought we might’ve got the job done going into extra time, and managed to make our way out of Manchester with a well earned point. A coming together in the area between Antonee Robinson and Kevin De Bruyne scratched that, with a penalty given. Fulham definitely would’ve felt hard done by with this one, yes there was contact made but it seemed as if contact was felt by De Bruyne, giving him an excuse to go down. A frustrating one to take after a brilliant 95 minutes of defending up to that point, but that’s the Premier League. 

Erling Haaland was entrusted with the opportunity to win the game for City and add to his tally of 17 goals in the Premier League this season, and only had Bernd Leno to beat. It was a well taken penalty into the bottom left corner, but Leno probably would have been frustrated as he did get a touch on it. It finished a 2-1 loss, frustrating in the end but positives can definitely be taken from that performance. City were well held in a game where they were on top for large periods and if not for that moment in added time, you’d wager it would have finished a draw. Yellows for Harrison Reed and Kenny Tete do mean that they unfortunately miss our final game this side of Christmas due to suspension, however Bobby Reid has proved an ample replacement on the right side of defence, but that spot at centre mid is up in the air.

Our next, is of course, our last game before the World Cup in the form of Manchester United at home on Sunday. This is a great opportunity to finish this part of the season strong, and pick up again in a great position as we look to 2023. Team selection for both sides could well be up in the air, as the Qatar World Cup looms which has seen many players take themselves out of contention to ensure the best condition possible for the tournament. For Fulham, you’d assume it’d be mostly unchanged. Bernd Leno who has been a revelation in a goal so far and now what seems a settled centre back partnership of Issa Diop and Tim Ream, who has earned a call up to the USA national team after showing his class in the Premier League. Antonee Robinson is also on that list, with Bobby Reid most likely to fill in at right back. Portugal’s squad comes out tomorrow, and you’d be surprised not to see Joao Palhinha’s services be enlisted, especially after his exceptional start to his first campaign in England. That other spot in midfield is up for grabs, you’d say Tom Cairney is probably favoured now to start. The front 4 will most likely be unchanged, but for the exception of Carlos Vinicius who will start if there is still an absence of Aleksandar Mitrovic. 

For Fulham, this could be a great opportunity to get 3 points against a Man United side who may well be winding down ahead of international responsibilities, especially after an away defeat to Aston Villa, which can’t have done a great deal of good to morale. 

Whatever happens, going into the World Cup, we still find ourselves in a solid mid table position after a string of consistent performances, but let’s hope we go one better against Man United on Sunday.