Fans spot Pep Guardiola 'coaching' Fulham star after crucial misses in Man City win

Manchester City beat Fulham 3-2 in a triller at The Etihad to keep pace with their title rivals ahead of the international break, but the visitors had chances to get something from the match

Pep Guardiola was seen giving Adama Traore post-match tips after he spurned a couple of golden chances in Fulham's loss against Manchester City.

The Premier League champions survived a scare against Marco Silva's side, who took the lead in an enthralling match which eventually finished 3-2 at The Etihad.

Andreas Pereira and Rodrigo Muniz were on target for Fulham but they had ample opportunities to get something out of the game. Two key moments fell to Traore, who used his pace and power to beat Rico Lewis and Kyle Walker to the ball on separate occasions - only to then fail to beat Ederson in one-on-one situations.

Eagle-eyed supporters and social media users later picked up on a clip shared by former Premier League striker Robert Earnshaw, which showed Guardiola deep in conversation with Traore after the full-time whistle. The ex-Wales star said in his caption that it seemed as though the Spaniard was passing on coaching advice.

Guardiola went on to brand Traore as "unstoppable" in his post-match interview after a brace from Mateo Kovacic and a late stunner from Jeremy Doku sealed a big win.

But while Guardiola talked up Traore after the match, Ian Wright and Michael Owen were slightly less complimentary in their assessment for Premier League Productions.

Wright said: "You know something, it’s really frustrating, but we’ve known him for many, many years now, and what he’s capable of doing. It’s a simple finish, just lift it over the legs, just a dink touch.

Join the debate! What did you make of Traore's performance against Man City? Let us know here.

"All you’ve got to do is show a bit of composure. The ball’s under his feet, he tries to finish with his left foot but there’s no space for the place where he’s actually trying to place that ball, that’s got to be one where you whip it around the keeper.

"He’s a frustrating player to watch."

Owen added some nuance to the debate, arguing that if Traore could take those types of chances consistently then he would be playing for one of Europe's elite.

He added: "Listen, with all due respect, if he could finish he’d still be at Barcelona, or at Real Madrid or Manchester City because he’s got attributes that you just can’t give. I mean the pace of him… against Kyle Walker, incredible.

"As I say, if he had an end product he wouldn’t be playing for Fulham, with all due respect."

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