Adama Traore received a lot of plaudits from Pep Guardiola after Manchester City defeated Fulham 3-2.
On Saturday, City returned to winning ways in the Premier League thanks to goals from Mateo Kovacic twice and Jeremy Doku once again. The visitors scored through Andreas Pereira and Rodrigo Muniz.
However, things may have turned out differently if Traore had completed one of his several opportunities. Prior to striking the crossbar minutes later, the 28-year-old outran Rico Lewis in the first half and took a clear shot at Ederson.
Traore then defeated Kyle Walker in a foot sprint during the second half, but again, he was unable to finish past Ederson in a one-on-one situation.
And following the match, Guardiola declared, โAdama, he is unstoppable that game.โ Whenever he had the ball, we had no control. In your eighteen-yard box, you must defend.โ
After Rodriโs knee injury forced him to miss the remainder of the season, City is still getting used to life without him.
Guardiola remarked, โWe have to find a solution since we do not have him currently this season.โ We need to figure out a method since we have Kova [Kovacic], [Ilkay] Gundo [Gundogan], John [Stones] in that capacity, Rico [Lewis], and Manu [Akanji].
โWe performed extremely well, but obviously Rodriโs presence is vital in this kind of game with the transitions.โ
He continued, saying of Dokuโs goal, โIt was very, really excellent. We frequently discuss his dribbling prowess, but what really matters is the last pass and action.
When he made the shot, I was in a diagonal position, and the ball created a stunning curve. Truly delighted for him. He was excellent both tonight and in the previous game against Bratislava.
When they had five players at the back, the two with Kovacic were effective because the striker is the only one who can protect him in such circumstance, which lessens the threat of the transitions. When we utilized that weapon, Kova performed admirably.
โIt was tight and intense, with opportunities for both of us and them. We had a strong start and plenty of opportunities, but when they moved to five at the back, it became more difficult. Although managing it was risky, we succeeded in the end.
โFulham is a really talented squad. Over his many years of employment, Marco Silva has risen to the position of top management. They acquired a number of high-caliber players in the summer, including Emile Smith-Rowe and Reiss Nelson from Arsenal.
โWe have always been capable of doing it. Like Brentford, we were playing excellently for the majority of the game, but goals do happen occasionally.
โYou have to give the opposition credit for the first goal, which was scored with a ball from [Raul] Jimenez, since nobody was expecting it. They also had more excellent opportunities, but Ederson produced some amazing stops.โ