Mateo Kovacic was the hero for Manchester City on Saturday but Pep Guardiola made it happen thanks to his instructions.
Manchester City once again had to come from behind to pick up a Premier League victory on Saturday as they defeated Fulham 3-2 in a tough match.
The Blues came up against rapid and dangerous opposition who were able to catch them on the counter repeatedly and deservedly took the lead through Andreas Pereira.
Only great goalkeeping from Ederson to deny the wasteful Adama Traore kept the score-line down before Mateo Kovacic levelled things up with a deflected strike.
The Croatian was at the double just after the break as he grabbed a fine second from the edge of the box.
A Jeremy Doku screamer made it three and it turned out to be the winner as Rodrigo Muniz pulled one back to ensure a nervy finish at the Etihad.
Reflecting on the win, Kovacic has revealed that Guardiola’s specific instructions led to him scoring his second goal.
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Pep Guardiola told Mateo Kovacic to get around the box
Kovacic’s second was a beautiful finish, only bettered by the fantastic first touch he took before sweeping the ball home.
The midfielder has now shared what Guardiola told the players to do in the match. He told PLP, via the BBC: “The manager told us that we should be in and around the box because the ball always arrives there.
“I was luckily there and Bernardo gave me a good ball, it was good control and a good shot.
“It is always important to get the win, it doesn’t matter who scores, the most important thing is getting three points. And now we hope to continue like this.”
Continued problems for Man City
A win’s a win and City showed plenty of character and grit to withstand another difficult side and come away with three points.
However, a pattern is emerging in City’s performances this season, especially since Rodri got injured, and it’s worrying for the season to come.
Fulham, just like Brentford, Newcastle, Arsenal and even Ipswich (for one chance at least), had plenty of joy on the counter against City and caught them in the transition repeatedly.
City push so high up that when they lose the ball they can be cut through easily when Rodri is not on hand to clean everything up. Kovacic, Rico Lewis and Ilkay Gundogan are not as secure as the single Spaniard.
City are vulnerable and teams will have taken notice. The Blues have had enough to get past teams so far but could come unstuck against their biggest title rivals.
