Man City 1 Wolves 0 - Report

The visitors were on course for an encouraging half-time team talk after keeping City at bay until Jimenez got himself sent off in remarkable circumstances. He was first booked for pulling back Rodri’s shirt before being warned for trying to block the resulting free-kick only two yards away. However, he then decided to block it again and immediately received a second yellow card.

With the difficulty of hanging on to the 0-0 scoreline with 10 men in the second half, referee Jon Moss took centre stage with a harsh penalty decision, claiming Joao Moutinho had handled it in the box when the ball struck his armpit.

The decision was not overturned by VAR and Raheem Sterling tucked away the penalty to give City the lead.

Wolves were unable to make a dent in the City defence for the remaining half an hour and spent most of their time keeping the scoreline to a minimum, as the fell to a 1-0 loss.

Bruno Lage made one change to his side as he moved to a 3-5-2 formation.

Moutinho returned to the starting XI and replaced Hwang Hee-chan, as Jimenez and Adama Traore started together up front.

Willy Boly and Fernando Marcal returned from injury and Covid-19 respectively and made the bench, meaning youngsters Hugo Bueno and Chem Campbell dropped out.

Pep Guardiola made two changes from Manchester City’s last Premier League game and started with a 4-3-3 formation.

Kyle Walker, who was sent off in the Champions League in mid-week, dropped to bench alongside Phil Foden who picked up a small knock in that game.

That meant Joao Cancelo moved over to right-back and Oleksandr Zinchenko slotted in at left-back. Gabriel Jesus also came in up front.

From the off the hosts were pressing Wolves aggressively and winning the ball back high up the pitch as the visitors sat in a solid defensive shape. Sterling hit the floor in the box claiming a push from Romain Saiss, but referee Moss was not interested.

Despite the early City pressure, it was only the travelling Wolves fans you could hear in a silent Etihad Stadium dotted with empty seats.

The tactic from Wolves was clear after five minutes too when Traore easily latched onto a long ball ahead of Aymeric Laporte. From there, Wolves played it nicely around the City box, and Nelson Semedo did well to win it back on the right, before Ruben Neves’ eventual cross was collected by Ederson.

City were playing an incredibly high line and leaving Jimenez and Traore two-on-two with Laporte and Ruben Dias, with plenty of space in behind.

The hosts did some have good efforts from range as well, first through Cancelo and then through Bernardo Silva.

When Wolves did get the ball down they sprayed it around nicely in midfield and found the flanks, but should have released it earlier to Traore on the wing.

Neves, however, was bailed out by team-mate Max Kilman when he lost the ball on the edge of his own box. Jesus was in but Kilman made a superb tackle inside the box to deny him. The original pass from Kilman to Neves was also poor.

The ongoing battle between Saiss and Sterling was an interesting one, too. The City forward raced onto a lofted ball in behind but Jose Sa did well to smother him and steal the ball.

A swift counter-attack then saw Sterling racing towards the Wolves goal but a superb sliding tackle from Neves relieved the pressure.

There was a nasty clash of heads just before the 30-minute mark when Neves and Kilman collided in the air going for the same ball. After several minutes of treatment both players were fortunately able to continue, with Kilman sporting a bandage on his head.

Once play resumed Sterling was once again released beyond Saiss and Conor Coady came across to block the low cross, as Sterling reached the byline inside the box. Saiss also went down claiming an elbow from Sterling and after the Coady block, a handful of City players reacted angrily to Saiss claiming he had dived. He then received treatment for several minutes.

From the resulting corner Dias had a big chance but headed wide.

For Wolves, Traore was doing a superb job of holding the ball up and getting his side up the pitch. He drew two fouls from both Dias and Rodri who hacked him down in the transition, and both received bookings.

As the game entered seven minutes of added time, a moment of madness from Jimenez saw him receive two quickfire yellow cards and his marching orders.

The striker was booked for pulling the shirt of Rodri in the transition and then warned by the referee for attempting to block the resulting free-kick. Bizarrely, Jimenez then attempted to block the free-kick for a second time and then received a second yellow card within seconds.

The Mexican could barely bring himself to come off the field and was distraught. He clapped the Wolves fans on his departure and then played up to the home fans by throwing his headband to the floor twice.

That incredible moment was the last major action of the half as Wolves entered the break drawing 0-0 but with a mountain to climb down to 10 men. Referee Moss had set a precedent with several bookings for transition fouls, something Lage ironically called for last week.

At the start of the second it was one-way traffic. City were piling on the pressure with crosses and forced several corners, as Wolves desperately tried to hang on.

A good interception from Leander Dendoncker did allow him to feed Traore who raced past two City players, but then took a heavy touch and lost the ball as he attempted the tough task of playing as a lone striker.

Coady saved his team again after Ilkay Gundogan beat Sa in the air and with his header going in, the captain cleared it off the line. A few last ditch blocks and saves from Sa then kept Wolves level as the hosts probed for the opening goal.

But just after the hour mark City found that opening goal. Referee Moss harshly gave a penalty when a cross struck Moutinho’s armpit, as he had his arm in the air. VAR checked it but it was not overturned and Sterling tucked away the penalty.

Former Villa man Jack Grealish, who had been quiet all afternoon, then missed a sitter from five yards. As City continued to push, Sa then made a big save with his feet to deny Silva from 10 yards.

Sa continued to impress and keep City at bay with another strong hand to deny Jesus who had been played in on goal.

Daniel Podence and Francisco Trincao were introduced late on as Wolves looked to snatch a late goal, and although they did push City back and see more of the ball, the visitors were holding firm.

That was until Kilman marched forward and got on the end of a Podence cross, forcing Ederson into a superb save as he tipped it over the bar. The defender also reached the resulting corner but it was easier for Ederson to collect.

But Wolves could not cause any late drama and the loss meant they have now gone four Premier League games without a win and have lost their last two, after the late heartbreak to Liverpool the week before.

Wolves: Sa, Kilman, Coady, Saiss, Semedo, Dendoncker (Podence, 86), Neves (Trincao, 82), Moutinho, Ait-Nouri, Jimenez, Traore (Hwang, 67).

Subs not used: Ruddy, Hoever, Marcal, Boly, Cundle, Silva.

Man City: Ederson, Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko, Rodri, Gundogan (Foden, 56), Silva, Sterling, Jesus, Grealish (De Bruyne, 72).

Subs not used: Steffen, Walker, Stones, Ake, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Palmer.