Six goal thriller at the Cottage

Fulham and Manchester City have played out a six goal thriller at Craven Cottage this evening. Arguably game of the season so far, both sides had chances to win the game but in the end it finished 3 a piece. City went into the game in 2nd place whilst Fulham were sitting in 17th place in the Premier League. City have been exceeding expectations this season under Sven Goran Eriksson whilst Fulham haven't quite being doing so great. City dominated possesion in the early stages but rarely tested Niemi in the Fulham goal. Fulham opened the scoring when Hameur Bouzza broke down the left and whipped in a glorious ball which was met by the head of Simon Davies who provided a cushioned header into the City net.

City started to look unsettled and began giving away sloppy possession until, one of the many signings by Sven in the summer, Martin Petrov broke down the left after a ball from Michael Johnson and didn't stop running. He switched inside and played a tame shot towards goal but it went through the legs of a Fulham defender and perhaps keeper Anti Niemi should of dealt better with the effort, but it went over his arm and into the Fulham net. Straight after the break Fulham regained the lead after Hameur Bouzza stroke an unstoppable free-kick from the edge of the City box.

But as Fulham have done on so many occasions this season, they let in straight after when Petrov had a shot saved by Niemi only for the ball to break to the head of Emile Mpenza who duly obliged with the finish. City took the lead for the first time on the hour mark after a good one two between Elano and Petrov, which let in Petrov to score a quality volley from 10 yards that flew into Niemi's net. Fulham boss , Lawrie Sanchez brought on two new signings with twenty minutes to go and it paid dividends. He brought on both Seol Ki Hiyeon and Danny Murphy who scored the equaliser for Fulham.

Murphy collected a ball from the cross of Seol's and he found himself in acres of space in the City box. He calmly slotted home past City keeper Kasper Schmeichel to give the Cottagers a deserved point. Fulham pressed for the last 15 minutes or so but couldn't find the seventh goal and so it ended 3-3 at Craven Cottage. A terrific game of football that neither side deserved to lose. Both players gave their all and it was a thrilling game to watch.

 

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