3 Up & 2 Down: Manchester City 2-1 Fulham

Manchester City showed great resolve in the face of adversity by coming through to defeat Fulham while playing down a man for 74 minutes. Here’s a look at who and what is trending in which direction after a thrilling Saturday at the Etihad.

3 Up

The Legend of Erling Haaland - Three matches sidelined with a foot injury. City down to 10 men and level with Fulham. Erling Braut Haaland comes on in the 64th minute, and seemingly pulls the Sky Blues ahead on a set piece only to have the strike disallowed. Then, he steps up and buries an extra time penalty to grab all three points.

KDB the Killer - A Man of the Match performance from the Belgian Maestro. A large part of the reason that City dominated possession while playing a man down for the final 64 minutes. He also drew the contact that won the critical penalty for Guardiola’s men.

Photo by Lynne Cameron - Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

Fortitude - This group of Man City players are building a reputation as a side that is never cooked. Whether playing a man down to Fulham, down a goal in a dead rubber UCL group stage match, or needing 3 goals in the final 14 minutes of the final day to win the title, this group of Sky Blues will fight to the end.

2 Down

Darren England - Certainly Cancelo’s penalty was the right call. The issue comes with the straight red card that sent the Portuguese off in the 26th minute. More than that, the issue with the match official was that it seemed that the two sides were playing by different rules. Fulham seemed to be afforded a wider berth than City when it came to the level of punishment. City supporters will not be looking forward to the next time we meet Mr. England.

Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images

The Rest of the League - Manchester City are the two-time defending Champions of England for a reason. Their 10-man dispatching of Fulham Football Club should serve notice that they are serious about retaining their title. City may not ultimately claim the Premier League title for the third time on the bounce, but if another club does beat the Sky Blues to the trophy, they will certainly have earned it.

Ther you are Cityzens. What do you see trending up and down after the win against Fulham? Let us know in the comments.