Eastlands, followed by Crystal Palace in the League Cup 2–0 and Portsmouth 1–0 to maintain a 100% clean sheet start to the season. City continued in good form, beating Arsenal 4–2 and West Ham 3–1 either side of a 4–3 derby day defeat to Manchester United. City would then, however, go on a run of seven-straight draws. Manchester City beat Scunthorpe United 5–1 and Arsenal 3–0 in the League Cup to reach their first semi-final since 1981. Hughes then led City to their first victory over his former club Chelsea for five years with a 2–1 victory. That last victory was one of only two wins in 11 successive Premier League matches, and Hughes left City before their League Cup two-legged semi-final against Manchester United; he was sacked on 19 December 2009 and replaced by Roberto Mancini. Fulham On 29 July 2010, Hughes became the new manager of Fulham, following the departure of Roy Hodgson to Liverpool. Hughes agreed a two-year contract with the London side and was officially unveiled to the media on 3 August 2010, before his first match as manager on 7 August against Werder Bremen. Hughes was joined at Fulham by his backroom team of Eddie Niedzwiecki, Mark Bowen and Kevin Hitchcock. His first league match in charge of the Cottagers came exactly a week later, when they drew 0–0 at Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the Premier League season, followed by a resolute display against Manchester United in a 2–2 draw at Craven Cottage. Draws followed in four of Fulham's next five Premier League matches against Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers, Everton and West Ham, with a solitary 2–1 home win over Wolves. This meant that at that stage – including the seven-draw streak at Manchester City before his dismissal the season before – all but two (86%) of Hughes's last fifteen Premiership matches had been drawn. The bizarre run, exclusively made up of draws or 2–1 results, continued with 2–1 defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion in the second half of October 2010. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Hughes led Fulham to an eighth-placed finish in the league and UEFA Europa League qualification through the Fair Play league. Hughes resigned as manager of Fulham on 2 June 2011, having spent less than 11 months at the club. Following his departure, he said, "As a young, ambitious manager I wish to