With Tottenham pulling out a surprise win yesterday, these three points were vitally important to keep the pressure on. Craven Cottage is not an easy place to visit, but the level of control City showed for vast quantities of the match was exceptional - to the extent that the final push from Fulham in the last ten minutes (after a more than dubious penalty decision) would have been very unfair on the blues.
People will point to Fulham's game with Juventus as an important factor, but the same people, previous to the game, were pointing at a Fulham win because of the momentum gained by that result. The truth was City exerted the sort of superiority that our recent play has deserved.
In a further step towards silencing the doubters, Mancini fielded a very attacking line-up from the start and his wish to play in the attacking style of the second-half at Sunderland was immediately vindicated. With Bellamy and Johnson playing far up the wings, this was nearer a 4-2-4 than 4-4-2 at times, and City had enough chances to avoid the tense finale. Tevez was superb and relished the opportunity to play off a genuine targetman - his relationship with Bellamy is also growing every week and the move for Tevez's goal puts it up there amongst City's best this season.
The players coming into the side - Toure, Johnson and Vieira - were all outstanding, which is not only testament to the competition in the side but also shows what is evident from our past three games - Mancini is getting to know his side and the league more every week. To come away with seven points from the last three games - Chelsea, Fulham and Sunderland - all away from home, is a real achievement, especially as our away form is meant to be our weakness. Some would have given us four points at best from those fixtures, and with a lot of home games coming up, it is now in City's hands. Impressive stuff.
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