Kyle Walker said Manchester City 'weathered the storm' at Fulham, but by full time the only threat to their goal was a light breeze.
City, up 2-1 from the first half, would preserve that lead after the break to record a huge three points in the Premier League and leapfrog Arsenal for the first time since February. After needing a 95th-minute penalty to beat Fulham at home in November, City will have left Craven Cottage feeling they have not had to work harder for six points all season.
When it comes down to the end of the season, the two wins over a stubborn Fulham side will be just as important as the two wins over Arsenal. With 15 minutes to go on Sunday, it felt like an equaliser was inevitable - until two smart substitutions from Pep Guardiola nullified the threat completely.
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Goalscorer and man of the match Julian Alvarez had departed, as had winger Riyad Mahrez, with Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden coming on. Bernardo replaced Mahrez, but played a little more centrally, while Foden took Alvarez's place right behind Erling Haaland.
After the noise levels inside Craven Cottage had been steadily growing, and the sense of injustice from home fans reached pantomime levels following a string of refereeing decisions they were unhappy with, City were a little rocked.
They had conceded out of nowhere in the first half, and had lost a bit of their shape and discipline as the finish line got closer. Fulham players and fans were targeting Jack Grealish, squaring up to the winger on the pitch and taunting him from the stands. When he finally got a free kick after a number of inconsistent decisions against him, Grealish sarcastically applauded referee Simon Hooper, risking a second yellow card.
It wasn't quite backs-against-the-wall, but it was far from controlled - and with that lack of control comes risk. Guardiola hadn't made a substitution by that point, so turned to his bench on 82 minutes to bring on Bernardo and Foden. With that, Ilkay Gundogan advanced forward, and City would see the game out without any further danger.
When Ederson was booked for timewasting in injury time, Bernardo and Ruben Dias ran up to the referee to point out incidents of Fulham doing the same in the first half - conveniently running down the clock further. Tackles were being won cleverly, and Haaland reprised a favourite party trick by keeping the ball in the corner, in front of the travelling City fans, and winning a number of corners or throw-ins in succession.
The control was back, but City weren't trying to attack, they were trying to see the game out. And they were being incredibly annoying to Fulham in the process. After giving the hosts some hope, they snatched it away, and Guardiola was mightily impressed after the game.
"We played really really well - it's another thing we improve from the past," he said. "In the last eight or nine minutes we played so, so smart. We did really well having Erling and Phil and these kind of players to play these kind of balls.
"We were brilliant, in the last minutes I'm very, very pleased with the way, they for themselves handled the situation."
Earlier in the season, City conceded in injury time to Brentford, and switched off under pressure from Everton and Manchester United to drop six points on days where the performance wasn't perfect but a result was there for the taking. There was a possibility that Fulham could join that list, but City were streetwise and saw out a crucial victory.
With a Champions League semi-final to navigate, and eight games in 26 days coming up, Guardiola will know his side cannot play the complete performance for every minute remaining of the season. If they can manage games like they did against Fulham, it will be a huge boost to their treble chances.
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