Manchester City secured third place in the Premier League and a spot in next season’s Champions League with a comfortable win away to Fulham.
Pep Guardiola’s side, which saw Kevin De Bruyne start on the bench and Jack Grealish not even in the matchday squad, took the lead following an acrobatic overhead kick from Ilkay Gundogan in the 21st minute.
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Gundogan was then involved in City’s second goal, brought down in the Fulham box by Sasa Lukic 25 minutes into the second half. After turning down the chance to take a penalty in last Saturday’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace, Erling Haaland stepped up to place his spot-kick into the bottom left corner to secure all three points.
With the game won, Pep Guardiola brought on De Bruyne with five minutes remaining, allowing the Belgian playmaker one final showing in a City shirt.
Thom Harris analyses the key talking points as City signed off their 2024-25 season in style.
Marmoush gets it right
Omar Marmoush has done everything expected of him and more since his January move to City from Eintracht Frankfurt, bringing some much-needed zip and explosiveness to the front line. Eager to run in behind, sharp in his interplay, and powerful when he can cut inside and shoot on his right foot, the Egyptian already finds himself joint-second in City’s Premier League scoring charts (seven, alongside Phil Foden).
Another energetic display at Craven Cottage — taking six shots in the first half alone — was exciting in that his effectiveness did not wane from a new role, linking up with flying full-back Matheus Nunes down the right-hand side rather than his usual position on the opposite flank. He linked well with the Portuguese on several occasions in the first half, drifting into pockets of space, pulling Antonee Robinson out of position, before slipping his team-mate through.
The only thing missing from a lively performance was the finishing touch, taking slightly too long on some occasions to let fly after being found at the back post. But with or without Erling Haaland on the pitch, Marmoush offers dynamism and pop across the front line.
Ruben Dias, Matheus Nunes, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush celebrate (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Guardiola tweaks the full-backs… again
Much of City’s improvement in the second half of the season — aside from the added spark of Marmoush — has centred around Guardiola’s use of traditional high-and-wide full-backs to give City’s wingers more support in the attacking third.
Nico O’Reilly has been a revelation since his two assists in the FA Cup against Bournemouth, while Matheus Nunes has been adventurous down the other flank. City’s setup on the final day suggested that Josko Gvardiol might be given another chance to play that flying full-back role — he was devastating out there against Chelsea in late January — but the Croatian was deployed more as a wide centre-back in a back three, while Nunes held the width on the opposite side.
Ilkay Gundogan scored a memorable goal (Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
Most interesting is when a City midfielder, usually Bernardo Silva, drops to collect the ball. Gvardiol would jump into midfield, always an option to receive between the lines and turn, and able to get up in support of Jeremy Doku if City could play quickly through the press.
The 23-year-old is a Swiss army knife in possession, exceptionally dangerous when he can make those underlapping runs into the box. And while his defensive positioning can sometimes leave space in behind, his physical presence and a collection of hard-hitting tackles did not make it easy for Adama Traore, and then Ryan Sessegnon, to get past.
All of City’s wide players give Guardiola tactical flexibility, but none are as versatile, and potentially as dangerous as Gvardiol.
De Bruyne’s final goodbye
The standing ovation said it all.
Not only will Manchester City miss Kevin De Bruyne — the creative gamebreaker in Pep Guardiola’s heavily-structured system — but the Premier League will too. For nine glittering seasons, his pinpoint precision, relentless invention and off-the-cuff brilliance have made City worth watching, single-handedly tilting title races and breaking records.
City fans were made to wait for his last appearance in a City shirt, only given a handful of minutes at Fulham to conjure up one more moment in a blue shirt.
De Bruyne has been magnificent for City (Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP via Getty Images)
But from minute 85 to 95, the away support chanted his name, with a two-goal cushion to Champions League qualification allowing them to enjoy the final farewell.
There were a few bright moments — two good interceptions, a nutmeg, and a handful of forward passes into the bright Claudio Echeverri in the final minutes. But this was a celebration of De Bruyne’s past more than it was the present, as one of English football’s greatest ever players said his goodbye.
What did Guardiola say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for City?
Wednesday, June 18: Wydad Casablanca, Club World Cup group stage (Philadelphia, U.S.), 5pm UK, noon ET
(Top image: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
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