Slavisa Jokanovic learnt three major lessons in Fulham’s loss to Manchester City

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Now that the dust has settled on Fulham’s 3-0 weekend defeat to champions Manchester City, the positives that can be gleaned from the match are clear.

Although it was altogether a negative performance, Slavisa Jokanovic can be heartened by the play of Marcus Bettinelli and Ryan Sessegnon, and also has gained a better idea of what players on his squad are up to the task of Premier League football.

For starters, very few would have expected Fulham to go away to the Etihad and take anything away from the match. Even the country’s best are regularly embarrassed in Manchester, and there was no shame that Fulham lost 3-0.

However, it could have been far worse if not for the heroics of Bettinelli.

The young English goalkeeper, bafflingly dropped out of the squad for the first two matches of the season, has now roared back and established himself as the club’s undisputed number one.

His save to deny Raheem Sterling from a certain goal early on was exceptional, as was his dive to repel his compatriot’s low drive later on in the half.

The margin of victory could have easily been five or six without Bettinelli between the sticks for Fulham, and Bettinelli’s confidence and ability seems to grow every week since Jokanovic placed his faith in the goalkeeper.

In addition, Sessegnon endured a baptism of fire during his first top-flight start in defence, yet performed admirably against the league’s most fearsome attack.

There were times when he was left exposed, but for the majority of the match he held his own in the toughest of settings, surely spelling good news for his Premier League future.

And, finally, Jokanovic now knows which players in his squad are simply not Premier League quality.

Cyrus Christie and Stefan Johansen turned in abysmal displays, with that match likely the last time we will be seeing those two fringe players for a while.

In addition, Denis Odoi and Kevin McDonald struggled mightily, with Tim Ream and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa likely to take their places in upcoming fixtures.

Although the heavy defeat damaged the pride of the Cottagers, the lessons learned from the away loss will ultimately help improve Fulham during the rest of their Premier League campaign.