Manchester City snatched all three points with a last-gasp John Stones winner in their clash with Wolves at Molineux.
The hosts took the lead early through Jørgen Strand Larsen, but City were able to respond before the end of the first half thanks to a Joško Gvardiol screamer.
The second half was cagey; it looked like it would be a case of a point a piece, until Stones nodded home a controversial winner in the 95th minute. It leaves Wolves dead last, while Manchester City go back to the top of the table.
As it happened
Seven games played, no wins to their name, rooted to the foot of the table: a clash with the only unbeaten side in the Premier League was not what Wolves needed. But something odd is happening with Manchester City at the moment: they’re winning games, but they’re seldom taking the lead early doors. Three times already this season they’d fallen behind in a game, only to go on and win it. Gary O’Neil’s side needed to make sure they repeated half of that process.
So, when they spent the first six minutes of the game without so much of a sniff of the ball, they probably weren’t optimistic. But then the first six minutes ended, and the seventh minute begun. This was their moment to strike.
It was their first attack of the game. One nice string of passes later, Nelson Semedo had the ball at his feet and was driving down Wolves’ right-hand side. Defenders were backtracking, and there was a big Norwegian lurking in the box. Typically when that’s the case for Manchester City, that means only good things. But this striker was not Erling Haaland.
Instead, it was Jørgen Strand Larsen, isolated in the middle, City’s backline ball-watching. Semedo’s cross was superb; it was a De Bruyne-esque ball, low and curving directly into the path of the striker. Ederson was in no man’s land, and Larsen slotted home the easiest goal of his career.
Embed from Getty ImagesOn the one hand, this wasn’t in the script. Wolves were surely not about to get their first win of the league season against the champions. On the other, this is Manchester City’s script this season to a tee. Go behind, reevaluate, get back into the game.
That’s very nearly what happened. After the goal, the visitors created half-chance after half-chance. First it was Bernardo Silva, denied by a terrific low save from José Sá. Next was Gündoğan looping a hopeful header well over the bar. Then Savinho blasting a free kick directly into the wall. They were growing into the game, but never really coming close to that equaliser.
Among all of that, they’d very nearly fall two down. Wolves’ first chance since their opener was twice as big as anything City were able to muster; a quick break, Matheus Cunha playing Semedo in behind, the Portuguese having almost too much time to make up his mind, allowing Ederson to come out and smother the shot. City – behind, remember – were riding their luck.
But this is still Manchester City. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. That’s exactly what they did just after the half hour mark.
Joško Gvardiol received a short pass outside the area from Jérémy Doku. It wasn’t even a half-chance like they’d mustered thus far. But he’s not your average defender. Opening up his body, and on his supposedly weaker right foot, he curled a glorious strike into the top right corner. Sá got a smidgen of a fingertip to the ball, and that was about as good as he could hope for.
It was his third City goal from outside the area. There’s perhaps no defender in world football (besides Trent Alexander-Arnold, of course) who can do the things he does in the attacking third.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe second half was more of the same: all City. But, with 78% of the ball no less, they were still surprisingly impotent. Erling Haaland in particular had one of those games; he’s a man of absolutes. He either scores a boatload or hardly sees the ball. Today was the latter.
With such heavy possession, it was hardly a surprise that the hosts failed to take a single shot in the second 45 minutes. To their credit, defensively they were incredibly well-organised. The champions couldn’t fashion themselves a single big opportunity; when they came close, there was either a body in the way or a Sá save to deny. It was a case of the immovable object against the uncharacteristically stoppable force.
At least to a point it was. Wolves hung on as much as they possibly could. When five minutes of added time were announced, it looked like they’d secured their second point of the season. Then, in the 95th minute itself, City got themselves a corner.
Phil Foden swung it in and John Stones leapt highest. It was straight at Sá, who’d been tremendous until this point, but he flapped at it. The power beat him, the ball was in the back of the net, and City had rescued all three points right at the very end.
Embed from Getty ImagesOr so they thought. Referee Chris Kavanagh went to VAR. Bernardo Silva was stood in front of the goalkeeper as the ball was whipped in – offside when Stones’ head made contact with the ball. It took two or three minutes to decide whether City’s lead would stand. But when the referee went to the screen, he finally made his mind up: Silva had moved out of the way of the ball. Sá had every chance to save it but didn’t. City had won it, right at the death.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow for Wolves, and a result which has been all too common. In many ways, they deserved a point today; they hung on until the very end, and yet still couldn’t get the result they so desperately needed. For now, they’re still rock bottom, this their worst ever start to the Premier League season.
For Manchester City, though, it’s a huge result. This fixture resulted in defeat last season; this time round, they learned their lesson – just about. For now, they’re top, a spot which they’re rather used to. They’ll stay there, too. At least for a few hours. Over to you, Liverpool.
The lineups
WOL: Sá; Toti, Dawson, Bueno; Aït Nouri, Lemina, André, Gomes, Semedo; Larsen, Cunha
MCI: Ederson; Gvardiol, Dias, Stones, Lewis; Kovačić, Gündoğan, Bernardo; Doku, Haaland, Savinho
