Manchester City beat Championship leaders Fulham 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium this weekend, but there was plenty of positive from the FA Cup meeting from a Portuguese perspective.
Portugal-born midfielder Fabio Carvalho gave the Cottagers a shock early lead, while the match was also notable for Pep Guardiola expressing his admiration for Fulham’s coach Marco Silva.
Silva has Fulham top of the Championship and the team have been widely praised for their attacking football, with 74 goals scored in just 28 matches. Speaking ahead of the cup tie on Saturday, Guardiola spoke glowingly about Silva, who is currently in his fourth job in English football after spells with Hull City, Watford and Everton.
“First of all, I’m very pleased for Marco for what he’s doing,” Guardiola began. “I’m really impressed, for a long time to be honest. I saw a few games recently of Fulham and I’m really impressed with the way they’re playing. I’m not surprised for this reason that they are top of the table in the Championship, and I know what it means to be top of the Championship.
“But it’s not just for the fact they score a lot and are top, it’s the way they’re playing. His positional game is exceptional. Exceptional! Every player moves in accordance with his teammate. I’m very happy for him (Silva) because I know him well. We have a good relationship from the past when he was in Everton and Watford.
“And now I’m seeing his team play much, much better than in the past. The reason why he’s there is because they’re doing really well. I know for them the Championship is the most important thing. After a week off it’s the best opponent we could face because it will be very demanding defensively and to attack them is not easy.”
“They monopolise the ball” - Guardiola
Despite Fulham’s form, few gave their open, attacking style much hope against a City side which has dominated the Premier League. Carvalho’s opener in the 4th minute stunned the hosts, but Guardiola’s men responded quickly and – with João Cancelo in the line-up – went on to secure a 4-1 win and progress to the 5th round.
Guardiola embraced Silva at the final whistle and appeared to be complimenting his opponent, and later added to the earlier praise for Fulham’s quality. “I’m pleased with the performance], especially the second half,” Guardiola said. “When a team is top of the Championship it is because they are good. They are one of the highest scoring teams in Europe because they are really good.
“Marco has created an incredible team. We spoke a lot with the players about how difficult it would be, and we should fight and run and defend well because they are a team who monopolise the ball.”
With Fulham’s objective remaining their promotion to the Premier League, they return to league action with a home match against fellow south Londoners Millwall on Tuesday evening. The Cottagers are currently five points clear at the top of the table with two matches in-hand.
By Sean Gillen
