Fulham 0–2 Man City: Player Ratings As Gundogan, Haaland Secure Champions League Spot

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·25 de maio de 2025

Fulham 0–2 Man City: Player Ratings As Gundogan, Haaland Secure Champions League Spot

Ilkay Gündogan delivered another final-day display to savour as Manchester City earned a 2–0 victory away to Fulham which secured a third-placed Premier League finish and Champions League qualification.

There was no title on the line this time, but Pep Guardiola’s side still needed a point to book a spot in Europe’s premier club competition. Fulham, by contrast, were guaranteed mid-table mediocrity, destined to finish somewhere between ninth and 12th regardless of the weekend’s result. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the relative incentives on offer, it was the visitors who made a blistering start to proceedings.

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After a one-sided opening 20 minutes, Gündogan contorted his body to hook an overhead kick off the underside of the crossbar to give City a 1–0 lead before the hosts had taken a shot or even mustered a touch inside the opposition penalty box.

That acrobatic effort belatedly jolted Fulham out of their end-of-season slumber. Adama Traoré, so often a scourge for Pep Guardiola’s teams, repeatedly pierced what remains a fragile sky blue backline, while Ederson was forced into several smothering stops. Andreas Pereira screwed a close-range effort wide on the cusp of halftime.

City, however, were guilty of some particularly wasteful finishing, with Omar Marmoush and the forever unconvincing Jeremy Doku both spurning opportunities.

The pattern of City dominance repeated itself after the interval and it was Gündogan who once again provided the breakthrough. Driving into Fulham’s box, the crafty—if creaky—midfielder pirouetted past Saša Lukić who couldn’t help but dangle out a leg for Gündogan to trip over. Six days on from his surprising decision to hand over penalty duties to Marmoush in the FA Cup final, Erling Haaland stepped up and made no mistake from 12 yards in 72nd minute.

With victory assured, Guardiola had the luxury to bring on Kevin De Bruyne for what may very well be his final appearance for Manchester City. In a sign of how far his stock has fallen over the space of 12 months, Phil Foden—last season’s Premier League Player of the Year—was also gifted some token minutes.