It was a case of welcome back Sergio Aguero and David Silva; the former from injury and the latter from a sticky spell of form to start the season (click to enlarge the image):
- City outchanced Fulham 11-5 (my definition of a scoring chance is in this initial post), but what as interesting was that Fulham had the first four scoring chances of the game before City hit back to be ahead 5-4 at the half and then extend their advantage over the ninety minutes.
- This meant City - for really the first time this season given their ability to strike back quickly - notched plenty of scoring chances with the game state at -1. Interestingly too, City haven't lead or trailed by more than one goal this season.
- The scoring chances were largely shared around though, with Silva and Aguero key players returning and having a big involvement, but also with Carlos Tevez and Yaya Toure in support (although not as dominant in terms of production as in previous weeks).
- Did the defence heed Roberto Mancini's call? The only recorded error was for Pablo Zabaleta in conceding the penalty and there were no defenes (Joe Hart aside) of scoring chances, signalling that City did tighten up.
- Edin Dzeko again scored after coming off the bench and whilst he won't be keen with the 'Super-sub' tag, his ability to be involved in (and convert) scoring chances with few touches and minutes does make him a useful option from the bench.
- It shouldn't be forgotten too that another early season absentee, Gareth Barry, started the game and his presence not only steadied the midfield but allowed Yaya Toure greater scope in the attacking game. He was also involved in an early scoring chance too.
As for the season totals, it remains tight at the top with big hitters virtually neck and neck and stretching their lead (click to enlarge the image):
