Manchester City brazen Carlos Tevez warranted feat at Craven Cottage to say his sides Champions League hopes and give Fulham a European hangover.
The hosts still had their important feat opposite Juventus uninformed in the mind when they found themselves at the behind of to Roque Santa Cruzs opener, with Tevez afterwards fluctuating the lead prior to the mangle in the Barclays Premier League clash.
Fulham are gentle in mid-table and trainer Roy Hodgson with pictures his is Europa League and FA Cup priorities by receiving off key playersbut Danny Murphy pulled a idea behind from the chastisement mark and they could have snatched a point.
With Liverpool degraded at Old Trafford, City right afar move on tip of Rafael Benitezs side and know their future is in their own handsif they win the rest of their games they will be in the tip four.
Their feat came notwithstanding Joleon Lescott pang a injure leg tendon damage in the warm-up and Javier Garrido removing drafted in but Mancinis temporary counterclaim was stable well by Gareth Barry and Patrick Vieira, with the Frenchman creation his initial begin since returning from a three-match anathema for aroused conduct.
Fulham fans were still buzzing from their feat over Juve and roughly had some-more to sing about after entrance close to scoring usually prior to Citys opener in the seventh minute.
Damien Duff lofted a cranky to the far post where Bobby Zamora headed behind and Zoltan Gera overwhelmed over Shay Given, usually for Kolo Toure to acrobatically transparent off the line.
The visitors defended the round and sprung a counter-attack, with Tevez stuff oneself the round to Craig Bellamy on the right flank. The Welshmans tame shot flicked the heels of Aaron Hughes, struck the post and bounced over Mark Schwarzer, permitting Santa Cruz to poke home as Dickson Etuhu sealed in.
It was his fourth idea of an injury-hit deteriorate and his initial underneath Mancini, who was rewarded for fielding an aggressive choice opposite a group that had usually lost once at home since September. Their arrangement mostly looked similar to 4-2-4 when they had the ball.
Tevez had tested Schwarzer twice in the initial half, the initial with a absolute expostulate that looked set for the bottom dilemma and afterwards after Paul Konchesky had weakly since the round afar in a dangerous area.
He afterwards doubled the lead 9 mins prior to the break, finishing off a issuing move that proposed from Pablo Zabaleta at right-back. Tevez nut-megged Murphy afterwards found Bellamy, whose floated lapse pass from the left side found his team-mate one on one opposite centre-back Chris Smalling.
It was a box of Manchester United past contra future, with the Argentina brazen slicing inside Old Trafford-bound Smalling prior to finishing crisply past Schwarzer.
Hodgson obviously had one eye on Wednesdays FA Cup quarter-final replay opposite Tottenham as he took off Zamora and Gera early in the second half, with Clint Dempsey and Stefano Okaka entrance on to try to get the hosts behind in the game.
City, however, looked expected to supplement to their lead. Adam Johnson laid on a possibility for Santa Cruz that Schwarzer parried, afterwards Johnson cut inside from the right wing and dismissed a shot that struck the post.
Bellamy was additionally found by Johnson unmarked in the chastisement area and had time to chest the round underneath controlbut his finish went far-reaching of Schwarzers upright.
The diversion appeared to be flapping towards a slight City feat until Lee Probert, with the assistance from his assistant, awarded a chastisement for Barry doing Chris Bairds cranky from the right.
Murphy sent Given the wrong approach with the chastisement to set up a moving finale, with Okaka blank a candid possibility to equalize and Probert branch down an additional spot-kick interest when Vincent Kompany appeared to handle.
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