Aguero shows the way for Manchester City as they aren't ready to give in as yet

If a time machine existed and if we used it to rewind to November, we would have landed in a scenario where Manchester City were using the other teams in the Premier League as battering rams on their path to the Premier League title. They decimated their arch rivals in their own backyard and were on course to being undefeated in the season.

All this changed when they made the trip to London to face an inconsistent Chelsea side undergoing a transition of sorts under new boss Andre Villas-Boas. The odds were heavily in favour of a City win and by a handsome margin given Chelsea’s poor defensive record. Despite taking an early lead, Chelsea showed remarkable fighting spirit and with the help of some lucky decisions pulled off a surprise victory over the Citizens and gave City a hard lesson to learn. That nothing could be taken for granted in the league.

They followed this with an unconvincing win over Arsenal, a tame draw against the Baggies and a shock loss to Sunderland. Suddenly their title winning credentials and ambition were thrown into question. To add salt to the wound they were dumped out of the Carling Cup by a determined Liverpool and shown the exit from the FA Cup by their arch rivals Manchester United.

Despite a last minute winner against Spurs at the Etihad which would have been a shot to the arm, City underestimated Everton in their next game and suffered another defeat and allowed United back into the title race when they drew level on points with City. Only their superior goal difference separated the two sides.

With Manchester United breathing down their neck, it was imperative that Mancini rally his expensive acquisitions and ensure that they keep their focus. They entertained a Fulham side who were lying in the middle of the table and had no pressure of sorts like their opponents.

Martin Jol’s side would have been more than happy to take a point off City having achieved that in the reverse fixture at the start of the season. Instead he was a witness to some shambolic defensive work and an attacking masterclass by City

City went with a highly attacking lineup with Gareth Barry being the only midfield screen as opposed to Mancini’s preference to use 2 men to mop up the leftovers. Adam Johnson started the game with Nasri, Aguero, Silva, and Dzeko to take the attack to the Cottagers from the word go. To add to the Fabulous Five that formed City’s frontline were ‘defenders’ Micah Richards and Aleksandr Kolarov who do not need any invitation to bomb forward.

As expected City started the game brightly with Johnson giving makeshift left back Chris Baird a torrid time. His torment of the Irishman led to Johnson winning a rather debatable penalty which Sergio Aguero dispatched emphatically.

Kun's The Man For Mancini

But that was not enough for City as they had to regain the form that saw them scoring an average of 3 goals a game in the early part of the season. It wasn’t long when Aguero dodged two Fulham players and square it to Johnson at the far post whose goalbound shot took a deflection off the hapless Baird into the Fulham net.

Aguero continued to be a thorn for the Fulham backline as he assisted for another goal. The Argentinean’s pace, trickery on the ball and ability to change direction in the blink of an eye was what prompted City to pay £38 million for his services. All of these above traits were on display in daunting weather conditions where visibility was deteriorating steadily but that did not stop Kun from taking on 2 defenders and passing it unselfishly to Dzeko to drive home the final nail in Fulhams coffin.

The victory against Fulham had loads of positives for the Citizens. Stefan Savic looked a little more assured in defence and also it put the ball right back into United’s court who managed to share the spoils at Stamford Bridge. While it was a game which the Red Devils make an astonishing comeback, City will be glad to see their rivals two points behind them on the table given that Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have a tough test next week too with Liverpool.

So all smiles for Manchester City for now!

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