Fulham suffered a 2-0 defeat against a dominant Manchester City side on Saturday afternoon at the Etihad Stadium.
First half goals from Raheem Sterling & Kevin De Bruyne gave the classy Citizens a comfortable lead at the break & ensured the points remained in Manchester after an uneventful second period.
Scott Parker named an unchanged starting XI from the superb victory away at Leicester City five days ago. Joachim Andersen would lead the side once more & the same formation would be employed in an attempt to counteract the attacking prowess of the hosts.
It was bitterly cold December afternoon as the referee got the match underway. The sun, shining all afternoon, unable to soften the crisp chill in the air.

The hosts were ahead within five minutes. After picking up the ball in the heart of the Fulham half, De Bruyne drove forward at pace. With the midfield battling to get back the Belgian international had options on either side of him breaking into the box. Without hesitation he slipped a neat ball into the path of Sterling who took a touch and fired home into the far corner across Alphonse Areola. The speed, power and direct nature of the attack difficult to control.
The temperature continued to drop as the sun began to set and the hosts continued to turn up the heat on the pitch with a relentless search for a second goal. With Manchester City seemingly in possession constantly, we would have to bide our time in order to carve an opening of some sort in the final third.
In the 25th minute the hosts grabbed a second from the penalty spot. Sterling again at the heart of the action. After receiving a pass in the middle of the box, the explosive forward worked some space from nothing. With two Fulham defenders converging on the ball, Joachim Andersen made a mistimed tackle and the spot-kick was awarded. De Bruyne lashed home an unstoppable effort in the bottom right hand corner to double the advantage.

With Manchester City enjoying just shy of three quarters of possession the first half played out with us looking to keep the deficit to two. Areola on hand on two occasions to produce smart reaction saves to prevent the lead getting completely out of hand.
The Fulham team remained unchanged as the second half got up and running. After a positive opening two minute spell, the hosts began to once again turn the screw & the Fulham front three would be forced to feed off scraps in order to create any chances.
In the 50th minute a free-flowing counter attack from City almost saw De Bruyne grab his second of the afternoon. After meandering forward at ease, the ball was eventually worked from the left flank to the feet of the unmarked Belgian. A beautifully struck left-footed effort flew past Areola and thundered off the bar. A let off.
In the 57th minute the City captain had another cutting-edge change to extend the lead courtesy of another counter attack. From a Fulham corner De Bruyne was slipped through on goal. Areola stood tall and made himself big to parry a shot low to his right clear. A good save from the Frenchman.

With Manchester City seemingly satisfied with a two goal cushion, combined with a more composed Fulham defensive structure, the match began to slow down to a pedestrian tempo.
Ivan Cavaleiro produced our first shot on target with a quarter of the match remaining before flashing wide after a quick counter attack. These two rare forays into the opposition half proved to be the last actions of note in what was a far more complete second half for Fulham.
We will look to bounce back next Sunday as we host defending champions Liverpool at Craven Cottage.
Fulham XI: Areola; Aina, Andersen, Adarabioyo, Robinson; Reed (68’ Lemina); Anguissa, Loftus-Cheek (82' Cairney); Cavaleiro, De Cordova-Reid (70' Kamara); Lookman.
Manchester City XI: Edersen, Cancelo, Dias, Stones, Mendy, Gundogan, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Jesus, Sterling.