Fulham 1 Manchester C 2:THERE WAS no great frustration to Sergio Aguero's assessment – his outlook born more of an acceptance that this is simply one reality of the modern global game – yet an issue was still there to be highlighted. The Argentinian is in his second season in the Premier League after five years in Spain, and so spoke with authority when suggesting that homegrown players benefit from a privilege not afforded to foreign imports by domestic referees.

The point was delivered in the aftermath of a timely win, not resentfully following a defeat but in a climate where players who are perceived to tumble too easily under challenges find themselves increasingly under scrutiny. Aguero’s Manchester City team had two appeals for a penalty turned down on Saturday when Carlos Tevez and Pablo Zabaleta were floored in the area. But though neither incident felt overly significant given that the visitors still emerged victorious, the champions are clearly conscious of the debate.

Asked if foreign players find life harder than English players in the Premier League when it came to officials’ decisions, Aguero was clear. “Yes. Always,” he said. “But it happens everywhere. There is a little bit of privilege with players who come from that country. That is normal. We just play our game, and the referee’s job is to know who is tricking him and who is not.”

The City manager, Roberto Mancini, may have referred to Peter Crouch’s recent goal for Stoke, where the forward used his hand to control the bouncing ball before converting, when bemoaning previous ill-fortune amid a “difficult” run of results, but Aguero’s observations did not reflect a sense of grievance simmering at City.

Rather, his was a general observation on playing in alien surroundings. Are referees innately suspicious of foreign players? “Maybe, yes,” said the striker. “It can happen, but I don’t think it did here [at Craven Cottage]. If it does, it’s not good for anyone. Here in England, there are almost as many foreign players as English players and it’s not right that some have a privilege that others don’t.”

There was an irony that the only penalty awarded here was soft, and granted to a Norwegian in John Arne Riise after Zabaleta’s slight tug. No team in the top flight can match the 14 nationalities Fulham have utilised in the Premier League to date this season, and yet Mladen Petric was still able to convert the spot-kick with ease to suggest City’s recent sloppy form might be maintained.

The real privilege on view, however, was the depth in quality of the visitors’ options. Aguero had equalised just before the break but Mancini still flung a mouth-watering array of attacking talent into the fray to register a first win in five attempts, ending with six forward-thinkers and two full-backs ever eager to charge ahead. Their second-half dominance of the ball was rewarded late with Edin Dzeko’s emphatic winner.

All four of City’s main strikers – Aguero, Dzeko, Tevez and Mario Balotelli – played for a period. “We have four forwards with a good attitude – maybe Mario sometimes so-so – but they’re all good players,” said Mancini. “It’s difficult to put one or two on the bench but when they come on they can change a result, like today.”

Dzeko’s goals in the campaign’s early weeks might win him inclusion against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday for a match City will feel they must win to inject momentum into their European quest.

Fulham’s own forward inspiration, Dimitar Berbatov, was absent here – and will be against Southampton on Sunday as he recovers from a thigh injury. “Someone told me Dimitar had played 10 times against City and lost only once,” said Martin Jol ruefully. “He has the qualities that can make a difference against a team like that, and that had given me confidence earlier in the week. So that was disappointing.” Guardian Service