Manchester City made the best of difficult conditions to keep the pressure on Manchester United when they visit Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, brushing off a negligible Fulham challenge to win by three goals and put the same number of points between themselves and their neighbours.
It was not a vintage display but it was never going to be, given the wintry weather. City simply needed a convincing win to put their recent setbacks behind them and they easily accomplished that. They might have won by four goals but for a weak finish by Micah Richards late in the game, but the way the City captain muscled an uninterested Mousa Dembélé off the ball before setting off on a determined solo run neatly encapsulated the difference in attitudes between the two sides.
"We needed to win quickly after the Everton defeat, and keeping a clean sheet was important," Roberto Mancini said. "Maybe we had some luck, but you need luck. If you are not lucky it is better to stay at home."
Martin Jol was less inclined to believe in good fortune. "We conceded a soft penalty and an own goal," the Fulham manager said. "That's always going to make it hard away from home against a quality team."
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