Manchester City thump four past Fulham to move past Arsenal at top of PL table

Manchester City took a significant step towards lifting the fourth consecutive Premier League title with the help of a brace from Josko Gvardiol and a goal each from Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez against Fulham.

Manchester City's victory helped them reach the top of the summit for the first time in almost a month and they could seal the league if Arsenal drop points against Manchester United on Sunday and table toppers defeat Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.

Gvardiol broke the stalemate in the 13th minute of the game following a brilliant passage of play. The Croatian defender and De Bruyne exchanged passes on the left, Gvardiol went past Issa Diop with a drop of the shoulder and slotted the ball inside the near post. Fulham looked deadly on the counterattack but struggled to put a shot on target.

In the second half, Fulham manager Marco Silva made a double substitution by taking off Willian and Bobby De Cardova-Reid for Tom Cairney and Adama Traore.

But it hardly brought any change for Fulham. Traore made an impact and his moment of magic helped the hosts register their first shot on target 57 minutes into the game. But moments later they found themselves down 2-0 with Phil Foden netting the ball from 20 yards.

Manchester City tightened their grip on the game after Gvardiol scored his second of the game in the 71st minute following a cross from De Bruyne.

Before this game, Fulham enjoyed strong outings at home, but they hardly laid a glove on the defending champions.

Fulham's woes increased after a second yellow was shown to Issa Diop which led to a red card in injury time following a foul on Alvarez in the penalty box.

Alvarez converted from the spot to make the scoreline 4-0 which sent City to the top of the table with 85 points.

Arsenal slipped to second with 83 points. To clinch the series, the Gunners need to win their remaining two games and Manchester City need to lose one of their two games. (ANI)