Full Firepower

The evening of November 20, Craven Cottage, London.

In the fourteenth round of the Premier League, Man City traveled to challenge Fulham.

It was a showdown between Man City's former and current managers.

Fulham's manager just happened to be Man City's former manager, Mark Hughes.

Less than four minutes after the match began, Toni Kroos sent a precise diagonal pass that tore open Fulham's defense. Su Dong made a late run, beat the offside trap, dribbled into the box for a one-on-one, and calmly slotted the ball home from near the penalty spot, scoring Man City's opener!

That goal sounded the charge for Man City's attack.

After conceding, the home side launched a fierce counterattack against Man City.

Mark Hughes clearly wanted to prove his managerial ability in front of his former club, especially in front of Guardiola, so he was extremely aggressive and showed no intention of sitting back.

That allowed Fulham to battle Man City on equal terms for a time.

In the twenty-first minute, Fulham won a Free Kick in Man City's half. The ball was sent into the box but was headed clear by Kompany, who sent it out of the penalty area. Busquets then played a long pass upfield.

It was not really a deliberate attack, but Su Dong won the first ball in the front third, headed it down, and quickly passed it to Di Maria.

Di Maria tried to dribble past his man on the left but failed, so he passed the ball back to David Silva.

With Su Dong and Di Maria drawing the defenders' attention, Marcelo suddenly made a late run, cutting diagonally into the left side of the box. He received David Silva's through ball, shook off Duff on the recovery run, and smashed a left-footed shot into the net