Fulham 0-2 Manchester City: Pep Guardiola’s side win to book Champions League spot next season
It wasn’t the fairytale ending Manchester City have grown used to under Pep Guardiola, but on the final day of a bruising campaign, they ensured the bare minimum – a return to the Champions League for the 14th year in a row.
City’s 2-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage was routine in its control, yet marked by a moment of sublime improvisation from Ilkay Gundogan. The 34-year-old midfielder, who has played the role of an extra in the squad this season, rolled back the years with a bicycle kick that revved up his side in a match Guardiola described as “by far” their most important for the season.
The goal came just past the 20-minute mark, as Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno parried an attempt from Matheus Nunes but it dropped to Gundogan. With his back to goal, the German launched himself into the air and volleyed the ball off the underside of the crossbar. It was his first league goal of the season and only his third in all competitions. It was fitting that the opener came from Gundogan, a man who has forged a reputation for key moments and for turning up on Premier League Final Day.
He was in action again in the second half to put matters to bed for his side, spinning in the box and getting caught by defender Jorge Cuenca. Erling Haaland stepped up to the spot and made no mistake.
Fulham had a spirited spell late in the first half that saw Harry Wilson and Andreas Pereira go agonisingly close, but ultimately they lacked the bite.
With the final whistles of the season having been blown in stadiums all across England, Guardiola will need a lot of introspection. After four straight league titles and a historic treble in 2023, City’s standards have been impossibly high. But with no silverware, an early Champions League exit, failure in the 11th hour at Wembley, and a domestic campaign where they finished 13 points behind a resurgent Liverpool, this feels like the end of a cycle. Surely the summer must be spent on the drawing board.
