Manchester City have continued their unbeaten start to their Premier League title defence with a convincing 3-0 win over Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
It took the champions less than two minutes to break the deadlock through the recalled Leroy Sane, and David Silva added a landmark second midway through a one-sided first half.
Raheem Sterling wrapped up the points once and for all with another goal at the start of the second half, and City’s stranglehold over the game only strengthened as they cruised to the victory.
Fulham had actually begun the match positively, but Jean-Michael Seri’s misplaced pass was pounced upon by Fernandinho, who set the ball up on a plate for Sane to stroke home from close range.
It proved to be an ominous snapshot of what was to come as City broke through almost at will throughout the first half, with the impressive Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero both firing tame efforts on goal.
The visitors refused to abandon their attacking philosophy despite the obvious perils, and they also played their part in an entertaining contest with Andre Schurrle looking the most dangerous player and firing an effort over the crossbar before City’s second.
The two-goal cushion finally arrived midway through the first half – by which point it was already thoroughly deserved – as Silva put the finishing touch to a fluid team move, slamming home from close range for his 50th Premier League goal.
The two-goal margin flattered Fulham at half time, but City wasted no time in making the scoreline more representative of their utter dominance with a goal almost immediately after the restart.
Having taken the lead 97 seconds into the first half, their third arrived 98 seconds after the interval when Sterling tapped home a simple finish from close range as Aguero had made it impossible to miss with a low ball across the face of goal.