Wolves’ five match unbeaten run came to an end as Manchester City cruised to their first league win in four games.
The game was over within the first 5 minutes, as Omar Marmoush slotted in a brilliant cross from the beloved ex-Wolves man Matheus Nunes. A lengthy VAR check saw Wolves escape from a penalty scare, as the Premier League debutant referee Farai Hallam made a brilliant call to stick with his on field decision, after being called to the monitor, that rejected City’s claims for a handball by Yerson Mosquera. It seems that this was the first time in forever that common-sense officiating was finally enforced. Unfortunately for Wolves, this didn’t halt City’s momentum, as they controlled the rest of the first half and doubled their lead just before half time with a first Premier League goal in sky blue for Antoine Semenyo.
The second half was much better for Wolves. Two changes at half time meant that Rob Edwards’ side could finally string more than two passes together, getting in behind the City backline with a handful of opportunities. City defended well throughout and kept their clean sheet, despite Mosquera’s late flick on from a corner that nicked the top of the crossbar.
With that in mind, here are my two good, two bad from today’s result.
Good: That second half
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With the game practically put to bed, Wolves came out of their shell and attacked when there were gaps in the City defence. The substitutions at half time undoubtedly helped with this, as Strand Larsen offered much more as a target man than Hwang Hee-Chan, allowing Mané to play off him and get a few shots off. Rodrigo Gomes proved much more useful than Jackson Tchatchoua, actually utilising his pace, and was unlucky not to do better from a few positions. Hopefully, he will be fit to start soon.
Good: Mané on corners (and set pieces)
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Has anyone checked to see if João Moutinho is still playing for Braga? Or, Neves for Al Hilal? Because, my word, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen some threatening corner deliveries from a Wolves player (aside from Cunha’s olympico last season). The starboy Mané proved once again why he’s such a top talent. His deliveries challenged Donnarumma each time, allowing Mosquera to come close with a header in the dying moments. Please, Rob, keep him on the corners. I can’t deal with seeing Hwang and André’s corners not beating the first man for much longer.
Bad: The defending for both goals
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The culprits for the goals both had similar scenarios. For the first, Hugo Bueno stood too far off Nunes, allowing him to get the cross in. Weirdly, Mosquera also decided to challenge Marmoush with his head, although I’m by no means blaming him.
Similarly, Krejci was caught on his heels for Semenyo’s goal, allowing him half a yard to get the shot off. We know how clinical City can be, and Wolves needed to be a bit wiser when choosing whether to go or back off from City’s attackers. The defending epitomised the first half: allowing City to dominate without much pressure.
Bad: The unbeaten run comes to an end
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Of course, it was always going to be difficult to come away from the Etihad with anything more than 0 points. It could be argued that the set up was slightly wrong, as Edwards decided to start without a recognised striker, but I’m not sure that it would have made much of a difference. Hopefully, our momentum isn’t stalled, as we face Bournemouth next week, which is a game that we can get something from.