Manchester City made no mistake and retained third place in the standings. Pep Guardiola's team won 2-0 away at Fulham and secured a place in next season's Champions League. Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring in the 21st minute after an acrobatic performance, and Erling Haaland scored from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute. Kevin De Bruyne played his last match for the "citizens". The Belgian came on shortly before the end and was greeted with applause from everyone at "Craven Cottage".
"The Citizens" began to dominate from the very beginning and had possession of the ball for large periods, and their attacks came one after another. The hosts were tucked away in their own half and rarely played with the ball. The "Cottages" survived the first few minutes and began to look slightly at the opponent's goal. That's when they conceded a goal. In the 21st minute, Mateus Nunes broke into the penalty area and crossed. The ball reached Gundogan, who with an acrobatic performance with his back to the goal directed it, it hit the top bar and ended up in the net.
The goal made the Fulham players become more active and they quickly reached their first goal position. After Robinson's cross, the ball reached Harry Wilson, who took a good shot, but Edersson did an excellent job. Adama Traore had a chance to add, but his shot was blocked. The hosts began to play more with the ball and the match became much more open. Traore missed a chance to test Ederson after being brought behind the defence, but he did not control the ball well.
Man City also continued to attack. A shot by Doku was deflected into a corner kick. In the 36th minute, Marco Silva's team came to a new chance. Cairney fired twice. First his shot was blocked, then he sent the ball wide of the post. In front of the other goal, after a breakthrough by Doku, Robinson stopped a shot by Marmoush. Shortly before the break, Harry Wilson tested Ederson again, and the Brazilian goalkeeper was again on level terms. Pereira sent the extra into the outside of the net.
From the start of the second half, Fulham played more boldly and this led to situations in front of both goals. Leno, with a bit of luck, saved a header from Guardiola, and Pereira was unable to finish off a good attack by the home team. Marco Silva decided to change something and put Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi in the game in place of Wilson and Pereira. Shortly after, Ederson went outside the penalty area, but Jimenez failed to capitalize, sending a very inaccurate shot.
In the 70th minute, Gundogan entered the penalty area, turned and was brought down by Sasha Lukic, which meant a penalty. Haaland stood behind the ball, doubled the visitors' lead and largely decided the match. In the last part of the match, Fulham tried to score at least one goal, but this never happened, although the hosts reached several dangerous situations and had serious claims for a penalty. Shortly before the end, De Bruyne came into play, and the whole stadium applauded him.