Premier League: Fulham 1 Manchester City 2

Manchester City took a 2-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage thanks to a late winner from substitute Edin Dzeko.

Fulham went ahead in the ninth minute thanks to a Mladen Petric penalty after John Arne Riise was ruled to have been fouled in the area, but Sergio Aguero levelled the English Premier League clash in the 42nd minute.

The home side continued their hard work from the first half in the second period, but the champions found a winner in the 86th minute through Dzeko.

Both sides began the game confidently, but in the eighth minute Fulham were awarded a penalty when Pablo Zabaleta fouled Riise, with Mark Halsey pointing to the spot despite protests from the visitors that contact occurred outside the area.

Petric stepped up confidently to send Joe Hart the wrong way, giving Fulham a 1-0 lead in just the ninth minute.

Fulham had a glorious chance for a second in the 15th minute, but Petric blazed over after Hugo Rodallega found him.

City piled on the pressure as Aguero headed into the side netting and Carlos Tevez had a penalty shout turned down.

The away side finally found the equalising goal in the 42nd minute, as a cross came into the box that was parried by Mark Schwarzer, and Aguero was there to tap home and level the scores.

City went close early in the second half as Aguero glanced a header wide after a teasing cross from David Silva.

However, chances became few and far between, but substitute Mario Balotelli saw a shot from outside the box go just wide of Schwarzer’s post in the 69th minute.

Just three minutes later, Fulham had a chance of their own after some good strength from Rodallega, with Bryan Ruiz hitting a powerful shot that was saved well by Hart.

In the 86th minute, the away side finally got reward for their hard work.

From a good cross, second-half substitute Dzeko turned superbly and powered the ball into the net to give the champions the lead, which they held onto.