Ilkay Gundogan scored a fantastic overhead kick and Erling Haaland converted from the penalty spot to lead Manchester City to a 2-0 victory away to Fulham on Sunday and secure 3rd place in the Premier League this season.
WATCH — Fulham vs Manchester City full match replay
All Pep Guardiola’s side (71 points) had to do was win at Craven Cottage and they could avoid the horror of scoreboard watching with all 10 games being played simultaneously on Championship Sunday. Easy enough in the end, as Gundogan opened the scoring in the 21st minute and Haaland put the game to bed in the 72nd, bringing to a close Man City’s tumultuous, trophy-less season but securing UEFA Champions League football once again despite all of the ups and downs.
Fulham (54 points) were European contenders themselves up until the final month of the season when they lost seven of their last 10 games and slipped to an 11th-place finish, but still a successful season for the Cottagers. Now, manager Marco Silva’s future must be sorted after weeks of speculation linking him to various jobs in England and abroad. Silva’s contract has just one year remaining and he is expected to be a hot commodity this summer.
Pep Guardiola, on Man City qualifying for the Champions League
“It’s like a title, [because of] the obstacles. When you continue [a run of poor form], you finish 10th, 11th, 12th or 13th. This is the destiny of all the teams in the Premier League when they are in November, December or January and you cannot fight for the Premier League, like you have done for many years.
“People can say ‘I don’t want to fight again, just to qualify for the Europa League.’ We continued playing good and we were there [in position to seal Champions League qualification] and we did it. At the end we finished third, not miles away from Arsenal, but the distance to Liverpool is huge. We have to improve and hopefully we can do it.”
Player ratings - Fulham vs Manchester City
Fulham vs Manchester City live updates - by Andy Edwards
Fulham vs Manchester City final score: 0-2
Goalscorers: Ilkay Gundogan (21'), Erling Haaland (72' - PK)
GOAL! Fulham 0-1 Man City: Gundogan hops on his bicycle for the opener (21')
Fulham starting lineup
Leno - Tete, Andersen, Cuenca, Robinson - Lukic, Cairney, Wilson - Pereira, Traore, Jimenez
Manchester City starting lineup
Ederson - Nundes, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol - Gonzalez, Gundogan, Marmoush - Bernardo, Doku, Haaland
How to watch Fulham vs Manchester City live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 11 am ET Sunday (May 25)
Venue: Craven Cottage — London
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Watch live on Peacock
Pep Guardiola’s side (68 points) sits two points clear of Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa as they ride a nine-game unbeaten run in the PL (6W-3D-0L) heading into Championship Sunday (11 am ET). It has been a disappointing, trophy-less season for Man City (unless you count the Community Shield) after winning four league titles, an FA Cup, the League Cup and the Champions League over the last four seasons. Alas, qualifying for UCL will help Guardiola and Co., usher in the next era as Kevin De Bruyne departs and a few other parts of the squad require a refresh (or rebuild). It was Rodri’s torn ACL back in September that began the derailment, but the Spaniard returned to action against Bournemouth on Tuesday and should be in line for another substitute appearance this weekend.
MORE — Final day scenarios for teams chasing European qualification
Fulham, on the other hand, made a real run at European qualification this season and sat 8th in the table (possibly a Europa Conference League place, pending Chelsea’s result in this season’s final and their finishing place in the PL) as late as matchweek 34, but Marco Silva’s side has fallen to 10th (54 points) due to their feast-or-famine tendencies down the stretch (8W-0D-9L, without a single league draw since Jan. 5). The Cottagers stormed back from 2-1 down to do the derby double over Brentford last weekend to set a new club record for points in a PL season (previously 52) and put a massive dent in their fellow west Londoners’ European hopes.
Fulham team news, focus
OUT: Timothy Castagne (muscular), Rodrigo Muniz (knock), Reiss Nelson (hamstring), Harrison Reed (calf)
Manchester City team news, focus
OUT: Mateo Kovacic (suspension), John Stones (thigh)
Fulham vs Manchester City prediction
Anything other than a City win would be a massive surprise here, given the importance of the result for them and the fact that Fulham have already gone above and (well) beyond expectations this season. Fulham 1-3 Manchester City.