It has been a blistering start to 2013 by the Champions who have now responded to a shock and chilling defeat at Sunderland with five straight wins in all competitions and fourteen goals in the process.
Premier League rivals Norwich, Stoke, Arsenal were the previous recipients of the Stadium of Light backlash (along with Watford in the FA Cup) and a doughty Fulham side were eventually ill-equipped to prevent their name being added to the list.
They had proved troublesome to City in the past having lost only three of their previous 10 visits to the Blue half of Manchester.
Many people cannot remember when City last failed to score in a home Premier League outing (it was way back in November 2010 when Birmingham City were the visitors) and it took one hundred seconds for that impressive and intimidating record to be extended.
It was Edin Dzeko whose shot was too hot to handle for Mark Schwarzer who, diving to his right, could only push the ball into the path of David Silva who scored with aplomb into the bottom corner. It was only his second of the season.
After the 2-0 dismantling of Arsenal, in one of the best performances of the season, the Blues were in an even stronger position in this contest with Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri added to the ranks and back from injury and suspension respectively.
Not many managers would change a team that so comprehensively came out on top away at the Emirates Stadium and Roberto Mancini didn’t buck the trend; that meant only a place on the bench for the vaunted duo Aguero and Nasri.
The boss’s decision proved a correct one. There was more eye catching work in the middle from James Milner and Gareth Barry the England duo tirelessly patrolling the middle with gusto and grit.
Both read the game so well that it is sometimes easy to overlook the amount of work and box-to-box running that they do. They have all the necessary facets to their game to make them complete players and at the moment they are both at the peak of their considerable powers.
Milner even doubled up at right back after the second half loss of the redoubtable Pablo Zabaleta to injury. There were classy shows too from Gael Clichy and Matija Nastasic who are both unfussy, uncomplicated characters who have quietly had fine seasons.
Having started so well it was a little disappointing that the Blues didn’t go on to press home their early advantage. Dzeko went close with a first time shot from Tevez’ pass and the Argentinian twice peppered the Fulham goal before Silva the tormentor-in-chief made the game safe.
The Spaniard had assistance this time first from Gael Clichy and then from a Tevez whose deft flick opened up the space that the midfielder exploited fully drawing Schwarzer before lifting it over the keeper into the far corner.
Ironically Silva then missed his easiest chance of the afternoon firing wide when set for a hat-trick before Dzeko’s shot from the edge of the box narrowly failed to make it 3-0 and then the Bosnian scooped an effort over the bar from extremely close range.
Not to worry. Aguero and Nasri both got some game time after their enforced rests, the former scraping the post with a cross shot in injury time; final chance on an afternoon full of positives for City - not least a fourth consecutive clean sheet.
