With the end of the international break, the five major leagues have reignited the flames of war, with the FA Cup taking the lead. In the 4th round of contention, the defending premier league champions Manchester City welcomed the challenge of Fulham at home, for Guardiola, who was eliminated by West Ham United in the Premier League Cup, had no chance to defend the championship, so in the remaining three fronts of the league, the Champions League and the FA Cup, there is no room for loss, and the treble is the only appeal of this Premier League giants.
In order to ensure a smooth promotion, Guardiola sent all the main players, With Mahrez, Foden and Glallish forming a forward trident, De Bruyne, Fiori and Gundogan in midfield, and Walker, Stones, Acker and Cancello all playing. However, only in the 3rd minute of the game, Manchester City suffered a blow, Fulham played a smooth counterattack in front of the field, after three passes and two falls, the ball came to the feet of Wilson on the right, he instantly accelerated to shake off the heel defender, and then the outside foot back swept in front of the goal, and finally Carvalho shoveled the goal to rewrite the score to 1-0.
This goal reflects the essence of the 7-second attack, which shows the superb tactical quality of the Fulham team, not conceding the goal too early also completely woke up the Manchester City generals, 2 minutes later Manchester City was crossed by Mahrez in the box, assisted Gundogan to push the goal, and quickly pulled the score to 1-1. Seven minutes later, City won a corner kick on the left, De Bruyne himself took the penalty, his arcing ball accurately found Stones at the front point, the English iron guard jumped high, flicked his head to score, the score came to 2-1.
City's attacking frenzy came to an end in the first half, and after a break, the Blue Moon Army made a comeback. In the 52nd minute, Glaris burst into the box after a series of frees in the middle, was recklessly brought down by the Fulham defender, the referee took a penalty, Mahrez hit the shot, the score became 3-1. Four minutes later, the fully opened Manchester City scored again, De Bruyne advanced quickly forward, and then he sent a precise cross from the front of the penalty area, and Mahrez, who followed up on the right, did not stop the ball and pushed his right foot straight into the far corner, fixing the score at 4-1. Manchester City, who locked up the victory, then dispatched troops, but the substitutes Sterling, B seat, Zinchenko and others did not achieve anything, and the score did not change.
This game can be said to be in full swing, originally thought that Manchester City's opening 3 minutes of conceding goals will make the script develop in a nostalgic direction, but Guardiola's strong ability to adjust or harvest a big win, this campaign Manchester City's possession rate of 61%, is a regular level, the number of shots on goal Manchester City is as high as 19, Fulham is only 6, the number of shots on target 6-3 is not much difference. With this victory, Manchester City also advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup and took a solid step towards Guardiola's treble triumph.
Mahrez, who has just returned from the Africa Cup of Nations, scored twice this season, scoring 15 goals for Manchester City in 26 appearances this season, setting a new career record, and he is currently the second most goalscored in all Premier League competitions, only for Liverpool striker Salah, who scored 23 goals. Arguably, Mahrez has become guardiola's most formidable striker, and his fiery form will be a valuable asset for City on their way to the Champions League.