SHEIKH’S VOW: I’LL KEEP SPENDING MOUNTAINS OF CASH
SHEIKH MANSOUR says Manchester City are still “only halfway up their Everest”. That’s an ominous message. The Abu Dhabi billionaire bankrolling City’s transformation says he will carry on investing in star quality in the pursuit of more trophies. The Champions League is presumably at the summit of his ambitions. In an open letter to City fans in the matchday programme, the Sheikh – who has just celebrated 10 years in control but has only attended one game at the Etihad – talked of his ambitions for the next decade.
He said: “It feels we are only halfway up our Everest. There is much more to do and there is much more to win. That is why you will continue to see us strive to recruit the very best talent into this club.”
But on the evidence of this comfortable win over Fulham – they scored 98 seconds into the first half and 97 seconds into the second period – Pep Guardiola doesn’t really need any reinforcements.
City look in fine fettle as they launch their eighth attempt to win Europe’s biggest club prize against Lyon on Wednesday.
Leroy Sane, so brilliant for City last season but seemingly fallen out of favour, was making his first Premier League start of this campaign.
It didn’t take him long to repay Guardiola’s trust.
City netted three goals but as Guardiola said it “could and should have been five, six or seven”, such were the chances they created.
Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic (right) said: “The result is fair. They showed they are one of the best teams in the world. They showed great possession of the ball and great attacking weapons. “They were fast and strong and we didn’t find our perfect level. But we didn’t make it easy for ourselves with the way we started the game and how we started the second half.” There were always likely to be goals in this game considering Fulham’s four previous fixtures had featured 16, one more than in City’s four games. And it always looked a case of how many City