Man City vs Fulham: Bassey reclaims starting spot, as Semenyo-powered Cityzens down Cottagers

Calvin Bassey's return to the starting lineup up could not help Fulham avoid a 3-0 thrashing. to an on-song Manchester City side at the Etihad.

The Super Eagles defender had been relegated to the bench since returning from AFCON. He took back his spot from Josh Cuenca against Manchester City but had little impact as Fulham were on the wrong end of a drubbing.

Antoine Semenyo, Nico O'Reilly and Erling Haaland helped the Cityzens go into half-time three goals ahead; the Cityzens' steely defence, marshalled nowadays by Marc Guehi, ensured their first-half cushion was enough to win the game.

City opened the scoring in the 24th minute when Antoine Semenyo capitalised on defensive hesitation to finish clinically, giving the hosts a well-deserved lead. 

Just six minutes later, the home side doubled their advantage. Nico O’Reilly was released into space by Semenyo, and he effortlessly lobbed the outrushing Bernd Leno.

The scoring was completed in the 39th minute when Erling Haaland struck for Manchester City, powering home through Calvin Bassey’s legs after he was set up by Phil Foden.

City were not as potent in the second half, and they struggled to control the game. However, Fulham hardly made them pay, as the City backline limited them to speculative shots.