Pep Guardiola saluted the character demonstrated by Manchester City after they went top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Fulham.
Julian Alvarez s stunning 25-yard strike proved to be the winner at Craven Cottage, where Carlos Vinicius had earlier cancelled out Erling Haaland s penalty.
Though not at their clinical best, the reigning champions displaced Arsenal at the summit of the table for the first time since February – and still have a game in hand on the Gunners, who they beat 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
Guardiola was pleased with the way his players navigated their way through what developed into a scrappy contest with Marco Silva s side.
I didn t have any doubt [in my players], he told BBC s Match of the Day. The game was so tight until the end, we could not expect anything differently.
This amount of games is a lot, but we knew that after we beat Arsenal at home, winning these types of games is really important. The players behaved amazingly.
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We responded really well [to Fulham s equaliser]. The momentum was there, we were playing good. It was not easy because they defended really well; inside it was so difficult.
In general, it was a good performance, knowing the opponent and knowing where we came from.
Guardiola also paid tribute to Haaland, who became the first player since 1931 to score 50 goals during a single season for an English top-flight side.
Before Winston Churchill was Prime Minister? Wow, sounds a long time ago! the City boss smiled. Congratulations to Erling. The best goals to help us achieve what we want still is there.
