Source: Daily_Mail
Fulham 1 Manchester City 4: Carlos Tevez strikes twice as buoyant Blues fire title warning
[LNB]For Roberto Mancini this was so much morethan a victory that ended a difficult spell forManchester City. [LNB]It was an act of brutality one that was cold, ruthless and clinical. It wasbrutal in the way it crushed the spirit out ofMark Hughes. [LNB]On Friday the Fulham manager had complained of how Mancinihad broken a moral managerial code in accepting the job at Eastlandsbefore the Welshman had been dismissed. [LNB] Driving home the victory: Yaya Toure fires Manchester City's third goal[LNB]But, if Hughesfelt he had been stabbed in the back 11 months ago, Mancinireacted to the accusation by stabbing him in the chest on this occasion with four vicious blows inthe form of four excellent goals.[LNB]They propelled City back into theChampions League places thatwere considered beyond his predecessorand left Fulham flounderingjust above the relegation zone.[LNB]That left Hughes under pressurewhen the focus had been onMancini prior to this game.It was brutal, too, because of theway City's supporters responded toa brilliant performance. [LNB]On target: City skipper Carlos Tevez scores the opening goal of the game at Craven Cottage [LNB]Not onlydid Hughes have to listen to themsinging Mancini's name but also tothem mocking his criticism of hisformer team. If City lacked ambitionin the derby against ManchesterUnited, they showed plenty hereat Craven Cottage. [LNB]'Boring, boringCity,' they sang, amusingly. [LNB]Not that everyone associated withCity would have been laughing.Mancini's final act of brutality washis treatment of the player he seesas something of an agitator at Eastlands.[LNB]Emmanuel Adebayor mighthave realised he was out of favourbut never, you suspect, did he imaginelosing out on a place in thestarting line-up to Jo.[LNB][LNB] Pick that out: Zabaleta scores his side's second with a thunderous effort from outside the area[LNB] The Brazilianhad not started for City for twoyears in the league prior toyesterday.Nigel de Jong risked the wrath ofthe officials with a nasty challengeon Zoltan Gera.[LNB] But the £18millionmisfit was back in the side, if onlyto remind Adebayor that, for aslong as Mancini is the manager atCity, he is the boss. Not even whenMancini started to make changesdid the former Arsenal forwardescape a group of substitutes thatalso included James Milner. [LNB]For Mancini it must have been sosatisfying, because this was City'sfinest performance of the season,possibly even their best since hetook charge.[LNB]City slickers: David Silva and Gareth Barry congratulate team-mate Zabaleta after his first-half strike [LNB]Inspired by the unexpected presenceof Diego Maradona, CarlosTevez was irrepressible and instinctive,scoring two fine goals, withPablo Zabaleta and Yaya Toureadding others in between. [LNB]'He's a warrior,' Craig Bellamysaid afterwards. [LNB]But this time Tevezwas far from alone in excelling forCity. He was joined by VincentKompany and Kolo Toure inthe way they commandedCity's area; De Jong, GarethBarry and Yaya Toure for themanner in which theydominated midfield;Zabaleta and AleksandarKolarov for the threatthey posed from fullback.[LNB] Then there wasthe artistry of DavidSilva.Only Tottenham hadwon here this seasonbut City made it lookeasy, so much so that theycannot yet be dismissed as serious title contenders. [LNB]Legend: Diego Maradona and his girlfriend Veronica Ojeda were among the spectators as City put Fulham to the sword [LNB]They sitjust three points adrift of Chelseaand Manchester United at the top ofthe Barclays Premier League in thismost unpredictable of title races.Before the game City's playersacknowledged Hughes, whileHughes and Mancini shook hands.[LNB]But Tevez wasted little time in punishingthe manager he was sad tosee go. It was just six minutesbefore he shrugged off the weakchallenge of Carlos Salcido tocontrol a ball from Barry beforeturning towards Mark Schwarzerand driving his shot past theFulham goalkeeper. [LNB]Bad day at the office: Hughes was humiliated as he faced his old club for the first time on Sunday[LNB]City were oozing confidence, thefluency and finesse of their footballproving far too good for Fulham.No sooner had Simon Davies's shotbeen blocked on the edge of theCity area than Kolarov waspresented with only Schwarzer tobeat. [LNB]MATCH FACTSFULHAM (4-4-2): Schwarzer 6; Baird 5,Hughes 5, Hangeland 5, Salcido 4;Davies 5, Etuhu 4 (Kamara 64, 6),Murphy 5, Duff 4 (Gera 46, 7); Dempsey 5, Johnson 5. Subs not used: Stockdale,Kelly, Pantsil, Dikgacoi, Greening.Booked: Etuhu, Johnson.[LNB]MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Hart 6;Zabaleta 7, K Toure 7, Kompany 6,Kolarov 6; De Jong 7, Barry 6 (Vieira 82);Silva 6 (Milner 89), Y Toure 7, Jo 6; Tevez 8 (Johnson 77, 6). Subs not used: Given,Wright-Phillips, Adebayor, Boyata. Booked: Zabaleta.Man of the match: Carlos Tevez.Referee: Lee Mason 6.Attendance: 25,694.[LNB]On this occasion, however,the Australian made the save.There was nothing he could do,however, to prevent Zabaletabecoming the second Argentine tocelebrate a goal in front of Maradona,a guest of Fulham. [LNB]DamienDuff made a mess of clearing across by Silva in the 32nd minute,and Zabaleta pounced with a drivethat took a slight deflection off Duffand flew beyond Schwarzer.The suffering got worse forHughes three minutes later. [LNB]Adelightful move between Jo, Silvaand Tevez ended when Yaya Touretook one touch to take himself clearof the hapless Salcido before guidinga low shot into the far corner. [LNB]Hughes responded by sending onGera after half-time and it did producea goal. Gera's shot took adeflection off Clint Dempsey's footand looped over Joe Hart.[LNB]By then, though, Tevez had strucka second that was not dissimilar,even if his contribution in divertinga Zabaleta strike over Schwarzerlooked a touch more intentional.[LNB]Fulham were better after thebreak but only because it had takenCity just 56 minutes to build afour-goal lead, brutally remindingHughes how different a world heoccupies now he no longer managesthe richest football club in the world.[LNB] Fulham 1 Manchester City 4 - the action as it happened from Craven CottageYou don't work hard enough! Toure hits out at 'lazy' City team-mates I've won things everywhere and I'll win here at Manchester City too! Roberto Mancini talking a confident game as he prepares for Fulham test [LNB] Explore more:People: Roberto Mancini, Diego Maradona, Joe Hart, Simon Davies, Carlos Tevez, Kolo Toure, James Milner, Emmanuel Adebayor
