Super Eagles trio of Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze endured a difficult evening at the Etihad Stadium as Fulham were beaten 3-0 by Manchester City in the Premier League.
City delivered a dominant first half display to reduce Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to three points. After needing late goals to overcome Liverpool at Anfield in their previous outing, Pep Guardiola’s side made a far more assured start at home and put the game beyond reach before the break.
The hosts opened the scoring through Antoine Semenyo, who finished confidently before turning provider for the second goal. Semenyo set up Nico O’Reilly, who doubled the advantage as City tightened their grip on the contest. Erling Haaland then ended his eight match wait for an open play Premier League goal with a powerful low finish to make it 3-0 inside 39 minutes.
Guardiola withdrew Haaland at half time, and although City did not add to their tally in the second half, Fulham were unable to mount any meaningful response.
Bassey made his first start since returning from AFCON 2025 after previously being overlooked by Marco Silva. The defender completed the full 90 minutes, recording four interceptions and five recoveries while completing 52 of his 59 passes. Iwobi also lasted the entire match, finishing with 56 successful passes from 61 attempts, one blocked shot, 70 touches and 10 instances of lost possession.
Chukwueze, who had scored twice in the reverse fixture, could not replicate that impact this time. He played for an hour before being replaced by Kevin and managed 17 successful passes from 19 attempts, one shot on target and one big chance created. He had 32 touches but lost possession 11 times.
The defeat leaves Fulham 12th in the table after their third consecutive loss, while City will now turn their attention to Arsenal’s trip to Brentford as the title race continues to intensify.
