On October 5, Beijing time, the seventh round of the 2024-2025 Premier League season ushered in a key battle, with Manchester City hosting Fulham at the Etihad Stadium. In the first half, Fulham took the lead with an assist from Jimenez and a goal from Pereira, but City quickly equalized with Kovacic. In the second half, Kovačić scored twice and Doku scored from long range. Although Muniz pulled a goal back for Fulham, Manchester City finally won 3-2, ending the trend of two consecutive draws in the league, and reaching 17 points, only one point behind the top of the table, Liverpool.
At the beginning of the first half, Fulham showed a good offense and created a lot of pressure on Manchester City. Jimenez sent a precise assist from the left, Pereira understood it and shot calmly inside the penalty area, the ball went into the net, Fulham led Manchester City 1-0. The goal made Fulham's fans excited and gave City a wake-up call.
However, Manchester City, after all, possesses strong overall strength and deep bench depth. Faced with the situation of falling behind, they did not panic, but quickly adjusted the tactics. Kovačić received a pass from his teammates in the penalty area, calmly swung past the defenders and shot the ball, which cut a wonderful arc and flew into the net, equalizing the score to 1-1.
At the start of the second half, Manchester City continued to strengthen their attack, trying to overtake the score. Kovačić was at it again. He received a pass from a teammate in front of the penalty area, and after a slight adjustment, he fired a powerful shot, which pierced through Fulham's goal once again, making the score 2-1 in favor of Manchester City. The goal made City fans cheer and boosted the team's morale.
City then continued to keep the pressure on Fulham. After receiving a pass from a teammate on the right, Doku made a slight adjustment and fired a long-distance shot. The ball made a wonderful arc in the air and went straight to the corner of the goal, although the Fulham goalkeeper tried his best to save the ball, but in the end, he could not prevent the ball from entering the net. Manchester City lead Fulham 3-1, basically sealing the win.
However, Fulham did not give up. Muniz received a pass from a teammate in the penalty area, used his physical strength to squeeze through the defenders and shot the ball into the net, bringing back a goal for Fulham. However, this goal did not change the final direction of the game.
In the end, City came back to beat Fulham 3-2 thanks to Kovacic's second goal, Doku's long-range effort and a Fulham own goal.
