Tevez keeps City hopes of big time alive

Fulham 1 Manchester City

Given that Roberto Mancini's affinities lie mostly with Sampdoria and Internazionale, the sight of Juventus being eliminated from the Europa League in such riotous fashion on Thursday night must have filled him with glee. However, when he realised Manchester City's next opponents were Fulham, that smile might have been quickly wiped from his face. But yesterday's deserved win keeps City's Champions League ambitions – and Mancini's dignity – intact.

Manchester United's win over Liverpool earlier had cleared up the picture concerning fourth place, with it now seeming to boil down to a fight between City and Tottenham, who are currently fourth. Should City win their game in hand, then Mancini's men, who owed this victory largely to the sweat and energy of Carlos Tevez, will leapfrog Harry Redknapp's side. Mancini realised three points were vital. He said: "This was important for fourth place. It will be a fight to the end of the season. We are not favourites, Liverpool are a fantastic team, and we will fight with Spurs, Villa and Liverpool to the end."

Unlike in midweek against Juventus, an early goal by their opponents was not the cue for Fulham to stage a successful comeback, although they gave it a try in the last 10 minutes, with Danny Murphy's penalty giving City the shivers. The hosts, who are now in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, should then have equalised but Stefano Okaka found the sidenetting.

The Europa League is a draining competition, as it usually forces teams to play their next domestic fixture just three days after their cup game. That was the case for the Cottagers, who looked tired and not helped by the fact Roy Hodgson only made two changes from their European tie. Bobby Zamora and Zoltan Gera, goalscorers from Thursday, were taken off before the hour and this time Clint Dempsey could not conjure up a wonder goal as he did against the Italians.

Yet there was still a spring in Fulham's step early on, when Zamora's knockdown found Gera, whose shot looped over Shay Given, only for Kolo Touré to volley off the goal-line. Immediately City broke away, Tevez found Craig Bellamy, whose shot was deflected onto the post and Roque Santa Cruz tapped in the rebound.

Tevez was his usual hustle and bustle self and with 36 minutes gone, the Argentine started and finished the move that led to City's second goal. He found Bellamy in space on the left, who was able to run unchallenged before finding Tevez 15 yards out. He cut inside onto his right foot for his 22nd goal of an impressive campaign.

They were both goals that made Hodgson angry for being on the counter-attack, although his mood lightened when Gareth Barry was adjudged to have handballed Chris Baird's cross, leading to Murphy's penalty. A second appeal for handball, in stoppage time against Vincent Kompany, was turned down a few minutes later. City, somewhat nervously, can still dream of the Champions League.

Fulham 4-4-2: Schwarzer; Baird (Riise, 81), Hughes, Smalling, Konchesky; Duff, Murphy, Etuhu, Davies; Gera (Okaka, 55), Zamora (Dempsey, 52). Substitutes not used: Zuberbuhler (gk), Kelly, Shorey, Greening.

Manchester City 4-4-1-1: Given; Zabaleta, Touré, Kompany, Garrido; Johnson (Wright-Phillips, 84), Vieira, Barry, Bellamy (Onuoha, 90); Tevez; Santa Cruz (De Jong, 79). Substitutes not used: Taylor (gk), Ireland, Sylvinho, Richards.

Referee: L Probert (Wiltshire).

Man of the match: Tevez.

Attendance: 25,359.