Filed under: Fulham, Manchester City, Premier League, Football, Match Reports
Danny Murphy completed a remarkable Fulham comeback that brought an end to Manchester City's 100 per cent league record.City looked in control after Sergio Aguero's double put them two up after 46 minutes, but the home side fought back through Bobby Zamora and Murphy.
GOALS:
18 mins: David Silva's lay off finds Sergio Aguero in space inside the Fulham box and the striker finishes easily. Fulham's claims for offside are ignored.
46 mins: City take route one from the kick-off as Clichy finds Dezko who heads down for Aguero to finish from 20 yards.
56 mins: Zamora gives Fulham hope with a powerful shot on the turn from the edge of the box.
75 mins: Danny Murphy gets a slice off luck as his 20 yard shot deflects off Vincent Kompany and beyond Joe Hart.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
15 mins: Clint Dempsey does well to win possession on the edge of the City area and tests Joe Hart after fending off a challenge from Micah Richards.
25 mins: Mark Schwarzer is forced into a full length save after Gael Clichy shoots left-footed from 25 yards.
27 mins: Silva again springs the offside trap before teeing up Edin Dzeko whose first time shot is tipped over by Schwarzer.
62 mins: Dembele's left foot shot forces Hart into an outstanding save.
Martin Jol believes his side's fightback gives hope for the future:
"To show against a team like that you can come back and score two goals, must have given us a big boost and confidence for the future.
"The spirit will always be 100 per cent if you get the results and we didn't have the results, simple as that."
On dropping to the foot of the table:
"It was awful being at the bottom. You have to win your home games. It was not a nice thing to see that we were bottom of the league.
"Now we're 18th. It's better."
On the second half recovery:
'We came out in the first half with v good intentions to do better. To concede a goal like that is unexpected. But to come back from the death, we had the belief and the mentality."
Roberto Mancini hopes his side will learn from the shock of conceding a two-goal lead:
"After 2-0 it feels like a defeat, but it could be a lesson for us. When you dominate a game like us today for 60 minutes and score only two goals it's a problem.
"For 10-15 minutes afterwards Fulham played very well, but a football match finished after 95 minutes. A top team like us to control the game.
"Every game is like this in England. If a team is losing 2-0 they do not finish playing. They keep fighting and scored quickly."
On the reason for the outcome:
"For 10-15 minutes all the team should have worked better. All the payers need to defend. For 10 minutes we only defended with five or six players which is not good enough. We lacked the killer quality."
WHAT IT MEANS:
City have been showered with praise this season but their last two performances suggest Mancini's side is far from the finished article. The manager blamed tired legs and a lack of coordinated defensive effort for dropping two points but having assembled such an impressive squad, it is now up to him to remedy those faults. Fulham at last showed some of the fight that characterised their progress over the last two seasons and Jol has reason to believe his side can now move forward.
FULHAM 2 (Zamora 56, Murphy 75) MANCHESTER CITY 2 (Aguero 18,46)
PLAYER MARKING:
Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer 8; Kelly 6, Baird 7, Hangeland 6, Riise 6; Duff 6 (Kasami 6, 61), Sidwell 7, Murphy 7, Dempsey 8; Zamora 7, Dembele 9 (Ruiz 6,84).
Subs (not used): Etheridge, Sa, Ruiz, Senderos, Gecov, Grygera.
Manchester City (4-3-3): Hart 7; Richards 6, Kompany 6, Lescott 6, Clichy 7; Silva 7 (Zabaleta 6, 69), Barry 6, Y Toure 7; Aguero 8 (Tevez 6,83), Dzeko 7, Nasri 6 (Johnson 6,81).
Subs (not used): Pantilimon, Kolorov, K Toure, Tevez, Balotelli.
ATTENDANCE: 24,750
REFEREE: Mark Clattenburg
NEXT UP:
- Fulham v Chelsea (away), Carling Cup 21/09, 1945 BST
- Manchester City v Birmingham City (home), Carling Cup, 1945 BST
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Mousa Dembele (Fulham): The striker led the way as Fulham upped their game after falling two behind
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/09/18/fulham-2-manchester-city-2-roberto-mancinis-side-blow-two-goal/
Gennaro Gattuso Geoff Ogilvy Gianluca Zambrotta Gianluigi Buffon Guillermo Garcia-Lopez
No comments:
Post a Comment