Manchester City: 5 Things We Learned from Win over Fulham

Manchester City's football team is getting into the thick of a 2011-'12 season, which will ultimately show them to be legitimate contenders, or top seat of the Premier League pretenders.

We are well beyond the early-season exuberance and euphoric energy feeding frenzy, which was fueled by massively disproportionate final scores, and now are into the character-questioning portion of the trophy crusade. 

That 6-1 drubbing of Manchester United at Old Trafford, in the Derby, seems a loosely knit memory in light of the current hair-of-the-chin differential between the teams atop the current EPL table.

Enter a Fulham team into the snow globe formerly known as the Etihad Stadium—a team that resides on the opposite pole of the current standings, and you have all the encompassing elements for the ultimate result, a 3-0 win for the Blues.

What follows are five takeaways from today's snow-immersed win over Fulham. 

Man City Are Unapologetic Home Bodies

The Citizens have now won 17 straight at Ethiad, a record which surpasses the previous mark of 16 in a row set by the team back in 1921.

Rumors of Sergio Aguero's Recent Demise Were Premeditated

Perhaps the jubilation that Aguero felt upon seeing the onslaught of precipitous white, starkly contrasting his Argentinian meteorological roots, sent him into a whimsy the like of kid embracing Christmas morning snow.

Nevertheless, Ku Aguero, was all aggression from the onset, tallying his 18th back of the netter in the first faint minutes of the match on a penalty kick, as well as setting the table for Edin Dzeko's dishes clearing 16th goal of the season.  

Mancini and Man City Motivated to Play

There was criticism, mostly self effacing from the City manager, of the lack of preparation prior to the club's defeat at the hands of Everton in their last match. Furthermore, he admitted overlooking the significance of the match this past Tuesday with the Toffees at Goodison Park.

The Italian proved his ability to publicly critique his coaching, as well as swiftly right the wrongs cited within his admonitions, as his side looked the aggressors early and often, exhibiting far more precision, even given the calamitous weather conditions. 

The Sky Blues Show They Are Up for Standoff with Red Devils

The idea of unfamiliarity with territory can result in inconsistency in performance and results, and there is no doubt that Man City has been scrutinized heavily in what has been nevertheless a fantastic season.

The adversity of attempting to maintain, and finish atop the standings will continue to manifest itself through the remainder of the campaign. With a greater portion of the pressure on the team less familiar with the top spot, in this case Man City, between the two Manchester sides, however, today's victory displayed the kind of resiliency which is paramount to the contested battle that lies ahead.   

Final Standings Separation Could Potentially Be Goal Differential

With today's victory, Mancini's side went three points up on Sir Alex' men, and given the one game separation in the won loss column, the difference in goals will become that much more profound come the end of the season.