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Manchester City regained a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League as they eased to a 3-0 triumph over Fulham at the Etihad Stadium. It was Man City's first home victory over Fulham since 2006 as the away side struggled to threaten Joe Hart in goal. Sergio Aguero got things rolling with a successfully taken penalty on 10 minutes after Chris Baird was adjudged to have brought down Adam Johnson. Baird was at fault for the 2nd goal too as he unfortunately put the ball in his own net in the 30th minute. Edin Dzeko rounded off the scoring in the 72nd minute to make it 3-0 to maintain City's 100% home record this season.

The injured Vincent Kompany didn't even make it to the bench as Roberto Mancini went with Stefan Savic and Joleon Lescott in central defence while Micah Richards and Aleksandar Kolarov started in the full-back positions. Gareth Barry was the only defensive minded player in midfield as David Silva, Adam Johnson and Samir Nasri formed a three-pronged attack force behind Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko.

Dickson Etuhu and Moussa Dembele made welcome returns to the starting line-up as Martin Jol named a strong side. Dembele slotted into the hole behind Clint Dempsey, who started as the lone striker while Etuhu joined Danny Murphy in central midfield. Simon Davies and Damien Duff were the wide players while Stephen Kelly & Chris Baird were the full-backs. Brede Hangeland and Philippe Senderos started in the centre of defence while Mark Schwarzer returned in goal after a long spell out.

Man City made the early running in the game, with Dzeko twice getting into space but on both occasions he neither troubled the keeper nor the goal. City were then handed a soft penalty in the 10th minute as Johnson fell over Baird, with replays suggesting that though there was contact the winger clearly went looking for it. But Aguero didn't care as he stepped up to crash the ball past Schwarzer for his 15th Premier League goal of the season.

Fulham took a while to get into the game as they struggled to get bodies into the box. Their first real opportunity came courtesy of Davies, who forced Joe Hart into a save from Dembele's cross. Silva then went close for City with a shot that flew across goal while Duff curled an effort wide at the other end. But Fulham went 2-0 down on the half-hour mark as Baird unfortunately turned in Johnson's shot/cross from the right. The winger was put into space on the right by Silva and as he struck a shot with his right foot, Baird got in the way to divert it at the near post.

City then had another shout for a penalty as Etuhu clumsily tackled Silva from behind, but the referee waved away the protests. City were attacking at will by this point as Aguero and Dzeko forced Schwarzer into saves. Fulham were far too slow in their build up to threaten City's defence as the league leaders comfortably protected their lead.

The away side saw a lot of the ball at the start of the 2nd half as the snow continued to pound Eastlands. But a weak shot from Murphy aside, Fulham didn't test City a great deal. City continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack, especially with Aguero bombing forward. The Cottagers then twice failed to get a solid shot on goal from good positions as first Kelly cut-in from the right to strike an effort goalwards before Baird struck a free-kick straight at Hart.

Aguero came very close to sealing the points for City at the other end after being setup by Silva, but the Argentine's shot was blocked by Senderos. But there was no stopping Dzeko a few minutes later as he tapped the ball in from Aguero's lay-off. The Argentine striker burst into box to suck all the defenders towards him before rolling the ball towards an unmarked Dzeko for the 3rd goal.

Mancini brought in Nigel De Jong in place of Aguero in an effort to protect the lead. Fulham did the hit the post as a corner struck the woodwork after taking a touch off Savic. The home fans got a glimpse of new signing David Pizarro as he made a late entry in place of Johnson. Fulham's last chance for a consolation came courtesy of substitute John Arne Riise as he fired straight at Hart from a good position on the left.

It was a professional performance from the league leaders as they bounced back from the mid-week loss to Everton to put pressure on Manchester United. The deteriorating weather conditions made it hard for the players as the game progressed, but as long as City possess the likes of Aguero, Dzeko, Johnson and Silva in attack goals will come-by. Martin Jol will be disappointed with the lacking of cutting edge in Fulham's attack as they couldn't convert possession into meaningful chances. Bobby Zamora's presence in the final third was sorely missed, and one can't help but wonder if Fulham have lost all hope of a strong finish to the season with his departure.

Teams:

Manchester City: Hart, Lescott, Richards, Savic, Kolarov, Barry, Silva, Johnson (Pizarro 90'), Nasri (Milner 54'), Aguero (De Jong 80'), Dzeko.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hangeland, Senderos (Riise 72'), Baird, Murphy, Etuhu (Ruiz 68'), Davies, Duff, Dembele (Gecov 85'), Dempsey.

Final Score: Man City 3-0 Fulham (Aguero 10', Baird (OG) 29', Dzeko 72')

File Photograph Copyright:·Ryu Voelkel

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