20 October 2024
Wolves 1 Man City 2
Winless Wolves welcomed the champions to town at Molineux. Gary O’Neil’s side were desperate to get their first victory of the season but that was never going to be an easy task against Man City. Pep Guardiola’s side had the chance to leapfrog Liverpool at the top. Having seen Arsenal lose to Bournemouth, this felt like a big chance for the visitors.
Man City are on an unbeaten run of thirty games in the Premier League. Despite having some big players missing, they always seem to find a way to win. It was the sort of mismatch in form that would have seen fantasy league managers up and down the country captain Haaland. However, Wolves started the game with a tenacity that has been missing of late.
The hosts came forward early on and Semedo put a teasing cross into the back post. Strand Larsen was completely unmarked and slotted past Ederson to give Wolves the lead. Molineux erupted as the ball nestled in the back of the net. Their fans were wondering whether they were going to see a monumental upset to take them off the foot of the table.
Guardiola’s side immediately tried to find a way back into the game. As the ball was crossed from out wide, it found Bernardo Silva in space in the box. His shot seemed destined for the bottom corner but for a world-class save from Jose Sa to deny him. The keeper had fallen down the pecking order at Molineux but showed exactly why he thinks he should be first-choice.
O’Neil’s side had a big chance to double their lead. Under pressure in their own half, the hosts played some superb passing football to turn defence into attack. It saw Semedo slotted in, clean through on goal. With only Ederson to beat, only a poor touch from the attacker was to give the keeper a chance to close him down and get an important block in. Big chance wasted by the hosts.
City continued to probe Wolves with dangerous balls into the box. Doku in particular was causing problems. He laid the ball off to Gvardiol, who struck a sublime shot into the top corner of the goal. The defender has been a shrewd signing for the champions, looking as potent as their attackers in the final third of the pitch.
Wolves almost contributed to their own downfall as they failed to clear their lines. Man City worked the ball to Savinho, whose shot was heading into the bottom corner of the goal. Once again Sa got down to make a brilliant one-handed save to turn it around the post. It was going to be a busy afternoon for the Portuguese stopper.
Into the second-half and the visitors continued to pile on the pressure. Dias tried his luck from distance but once again Sa made a great save to deny him. On this performance Johnstone was going to struggle to get his place back. The hosts were really grafting to get something out of this game, showing some real grit and determination.
On a rare counter-attack, substitute Forbes got some joy down the left. He put a teasing cross into the back post but it just evaded Strand Larsen. Coming into this game all the talk was of Haaland, but it was his Norwegian teammate who was taking the limelight. At this point you wondered whether O’Neil’s side could pull the ultimate sucker punch out of the bag.
The visitors were finding Wolves trickier to break down than their 115 charges from the Premier League. As time started to run out, Guardiola rang the changes to try and find a way to unlock the hosts’ defence. Not that they had struggled to do that so far, it was finding a way past Sa that was the thorn in their side on their visit to the Midlands.
As Wolves struggled to clear their lines from a corner, it dropped to Grealish outside the box. The Alice band wearing winger struck a first time shot but Sa made easy work of it as he gathered in the bottom corner of the goal. With three minutes of added time already gone, it was just a matter of holding onto what they had for O’Neil’s side.
Coming forward themselves, the hosts were robbed of the ball just outside the Man City penalty area. They were demanding a free kick for the challenge but the referee waved away their protests. You could see their point as the challenge came in from behind, always given as a foul in the modern game. Not this time however.
Man City went straight down the other end of the pitch and former Wolves midfielder Nunes managed to get a shot off at goal. Amid all the boos from the home fans, it seemed to take a touch on the way through and a corner was awarded. As Grealish’s cross came in, the hosts stayed resolute as they kept on clearing the ball behind.
Finally, with the last chance of the game surely, Foden stood over the ball. He swung a cross in, which was met by the head of Stones, who finally beat Sa to grab a 95th minute winner. The hosts were incredulous as they claimed the goal should be chalked off as Bernardo Silva was in an offside position. The goal was given, although a VAR review informed the referee he should visit the monitor.
The replay showed that Silva was blocking Sa from being able to come for the cross. As Stones’ header went into the back of the net, the Portuguese midfielder ducked out of the way. Chris Kavanagh took some time to review the footage but finally decided the goal would stand. The away end erupted for a second time in a matter of minutes.
Wolves can feel hard done by as they themselves had a goal ruled out last season for a similar incident. Some of the biggest rivalries in football still amaze…..Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Celtic vs Rangers, Liverpool vs Man Utd and Wolves vs PGMOL. Man City took all three points and this felt like a big psychological win for Pep Guardiola’s side.
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