Media reaction: Fulham V Manchester City

Sorry this is a bit later than planned - work (annoyingly) got in the way. Here is a round-up of how the Sunday and Monday papers saw our draw with City. I have also added some videos of Clint Dempsey and this can be found on the left hand side.

If it’s entertainment that Roman Abramovich craves, then perhaps he should take a stroll down Fulham Broadway to Craven Cottage, where he’ll find goals, controversy, excitement and entertainment, suggested Steve Stammers in the Sunday Mirror.

“Fulham at Craven Cottage are a delight to watch,” he wrote. “Defensively they may be suspect, but the attitude is top drawer. The Chelsea oligarch may want to take note. In their last home game, Fulham shared six strikes with Tottenham, and more of the same was on view in the clash with Manchester City.”

Arindam Rej, in The Observer, saw Fulham dominate the early stages and snatch the lead after Davis picked out Hameur Bouazza on the left flank. “Bouazza;s cross was glanced in at the near post by Simon Davies, who sneaked beyond Richard Dunne in the six-yard box.”

There wasn’t much response from Eriksson’s men until nine minutes before the interval, according to The Independent’s Conrad Leach. “Michael Johnson found Martin Petrov in plenty of space and the Bulgarian was allowed to cut in far too easily by Chris Baird, although there was a slight element of luck as his shot beat Antti Niemi with a deflection.”

The shock of conceding that goal to City was heightened by the fact that it was their first serious attempt on goal, he added.

However, the home side got their nose in front again early in the second half, wrote Bruce Maxwell in The Sunday Telegraph, as substitute Kamara nutmegged Dunne to earn a free kick just outside the penalty area. “Bouazza’s swerving left foot strike left Schmeichel clutching fresh air as Fulham regained the lead.”

It didn’t last long, pointed out the Mail on Sunday’s Daniel King, as Emile Mpenza equalised after keeper Antti Niemi parried Petrov’s shot. “Baird completed a hat-trick of misdemeanours on the hour,” he added. “Petrov’s one-two with Elano was slick, but the full-back was flat-footed as Petrov ran past him before firing inside the near post.”

Despite the fact that Eriksson had turned Danny Murphy into an England international, this didn’t stop the former Liverpool man from scoring with his very first touch, pointed out Dave Kidd in The People.

“Murphy’s career has nose-dived since leaving Anfield, with bitterly disappointing spells at Charlton and Spurs,” he wrote. “But the man who forced his way into the England squad while the Swede was in charge, showed his international pedigree with the sweetest of finishes in the 75th minute.”

While satisfied with his team’s relentless attacking menace, Fulham’s manager, Lawrie Sanchez, was left to rue a familiar feeling, reflected Mike Adamson in The Guardian: the inability to hold on to leads. “This was the fifth game in which Fulham had gone in front but been unable to take the three points,” he wrote. “Fulham fans may well be concerned about their team’s brittle rearguard, but after successive 3-3 draws at Craven Cottage, they cannot grumble about getting value for money.”