Two-goal hero Mateo Kovacic dedicated his double to his future child following Manchester City's 3-2 victory over Fulham.

Kovacic scored either side of half-time to complete the turnaround, as Pep Guardiola's side came from behind to maintain the pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool, who they trail by a single point.

The Croatian's deflected strike in the 32nd minute levelled the contest, before he swept City in front from 20 yards within two minutes of the restart.

That took Kovacic's goal tally for the season to three - already his best return in a single Premier League campaign - and his strikes had added significance on a personal level.

"It means a lot because my wife is pregnant, so it was great to get some goals for the little one," he said. "It is never easy to play in the Premier League and, today, we showed great character. 

"We dominated in the beginning and couldn't score, conceded the goal and then came back quickly. In the end, we won it. It was a tough game against an opponent in good form, so for us, it is good to continue winning.

"It is always important to get the win. It doesn't matter who scores; the most important thing is getting three points. Now, we hope to continue like this."

Kovacic anchored City's midfield in the absence of Rodri, who suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal a fortnight ago.

"I am playing there in the middle at the moment and, of course, we need to cover for Rodri. We miss him a lot," the 30-year-old added.

"I think any team would miss him, the player that he is, and we wish him a speedy recovery and hope he comes back in as good a shape as possible. 

"For now, we have to adapt and, for sure, the manager has a lot of options, so we can rotate."