A trio of second half goals saw Fulham lose 3-0 against top of the table Manchester City on Saturday night.
After a goalless opening half, John Stones prodded home in the 46th minute to give the visitors a slim advantage. 10 minutes later, Gabriel Jesus doubled the lead to put the result beyond doubt, before Sergio Aguero slammed home an unstoppable penalty to add a third.
Scott Parker made two changes from the side that picked up a precious three points away at Anfield last Sunday. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa were brought back into the starting XI, with Bobby De Cordova-Reid missing out through injury and Josh Maja dropping to the bench.
After what had been a blustery day in South West London, it was a beautifully clear evening as kick-off approached.
A composed opening 15 minutes saw Fulham repel any advances from a free-flowing and well organised City outfit. However, with both teams slowly implementing their styles, it was the visitors who started to slowly turn the screw and chip away.
In the 18th minute a perfectly timed ball in behind the Fulham defence found Ferran Torres unmarked in the box. With Fulham scrambling to get back a good save low to his right from Alphonse Areola kept the scores level.
Aside from a weak shot from close range by Bernardo Silva, the first 35 minutes remained event free, which on the grand scheme of things, given the opponent, was exactly what we would've wanted.
As the referee brought the first half to the close it was Manchester City pressing to find gaps in our rigid structure. However, Areola was only troubled on one occasion, smothering a low shot from Aguero from a tight angle.
You felt we would have to weather an attacking barrage in the second half, and sure enough the visitors came flying out the traps.
The barriers were breached with the first attacking move of the half. A perfect freekick was whipped in from the left wing by Joao Cancelo. A ball of such quality was going to be hard to deal with and sure enough, with the Fulham line breached, Stones was on hand to stab home into the far corner.
In the 52nd minute City came close again. A mesmerising run from Silva down the right wing opened up some space and unselfishly the forward laid one off on a platter to Rodri. Without hesitation, the midfielder lashed a powerful effort on target, which Areola was perfectly positioned to parry.
In the 56th minute Manchester City had a fortuitous second. A loose ball just outside our area was cleared by Joachim Andersen. His attempted clearance cannoned off the back of Ivan Cavaleiro and fell perfectly to Jesus in our box. After rounding Areola the striker smashed home to the delight of a boisterous City analysis department, bellowing their joy from a deserted Johnny Haynes Stand.
The fan club was rewarded again in the 60th minute. Tosin, who got caught in possession, felled Torres when trying to battle back to make amends just inside our penalty area. Aguero, who had been largely quiet in the second half, despatched from the spot, and it was now damage limitation mode for Fulham.
With the match out of reach we looked to steady the ship and the deficit remained three as the referee blew the final whistle.
A week to regroup, refocus and look to get back to winning ways vs Leeds United on Friday night.
Fulham XI: Areola, Tete, Andersen, Tosin, Aina, Anguissa, Reed, Lemina (73' Onomah), Loftus-Cheek (63' Mitrovic), Cavaleiro (Robinson), Lookman.
Manchester City XI: Edersen, Stones, Laporte, Dias (75' Garcia), Cancelo, Silva (Fernandinho), Rodrigo, Mendy, Torres, Aguero, Jesus.