Manchester City 3 Wolves 0 - Report

Wolves sat back in their shape and looked to counter attack in the first half and without causing any danger up front, they almost got to half-time at 0-0.

Haaland, however, powered home a header in the 40th minute to give City the lead.

After the break, Wolves made a dreadful start by handing the hosts a penalty after five minutes, which Haaland converted, before the Norwegian rounded off his hat-trick in the 54th minute.

Wolves showed little sign of getting back into the game, while City could have extended their lead, before the referee called full-time and put Wolves out of their misery.

Analysis

Julen Lopetegui made six changes from the team that lost to Liverpool in the FA Cup last time out, as he changed to a 4-3-3 formation.

Mario Lemina made his full debut for the club, while new signing Pablo Sarabia made the bench.

Pep Guardiola made two changes from the team that beat Spurs on Thursday, as they also lined up in a 4-3-3 formation.

Aymeric Laporte and Kevin De Bruyne came into the side, as Nathan Ake and Julian Alvarez dropped to the bench.

The first scare for Wolves almost came from their own making, when Nelson Semedo was twice warned by the referee who dragging his opponent to the floor during a corner. The City players surrounded the referee calling for a penalty, but David Coote was unmoved.

In the opening 10 minutes, the hosts dominated possession and played almost exclusively in the Wolves half. Lopetegui’s men hardly strung two passes together, as City looked for the opening goal.

Max Kilman’s job became much harder, too, when he flattened Ilkay Gundogan and got a yellow card, as he handed City a free-kick on the edge of the box. The midfielder spent several minutes receiving treatment on the pitch before playing on.

Hwang’s excellent pressing almost saw him nick the ball off last man Rico Lewis, but referee Coote somehow gave City a free-kick. Wolves were furious and he then booked Lemina for his protests, before also booking Lopetegui.

Wolves had just eight per cent possession in the opening 15 minutes, as they tried to spring counter attacks from City’s dominant control of the game.

When Wolves did have possession, they were not doing enough with it. A mistake in defence handed Haaland a chance, but Jose Sa made a smart save.

City kept probing and often found space out wide through Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez. On one occasion, Mahrez did well to dance beyond Hugo Bueno and pull the ball back to Lewis. His cross was met by Gundogan, but his header cleared the crossbar.

Moments later, Haaland was almost through but Nathan Collins stretched and got a vital toe to the ball, to allow Sa to collect it.

Although Wolves were failing to create any chances or momentum, and struggling to keep hold of the ball, they were limiting City to crosses and shots from the box which were dealt with fairly comfortably.

Wolves, however, were also intent on passing out from the back and on several occasions, Sa made the wrong call, allowing City another opportunity.

Just five minutes before half-time, City finally found the breakthrough. Mahrez was awarded too much space on the right and he cut the ball back to De Bruyne. His cross found Haaland, who towered above Collins to head home.

Coote infuriated Wolves again when he failed to give Adama Traore a free-kick when he was seemingly chopped down by Laporte on the break. City countered and Grealish was caught by Collins in the box, but the referee and VAR did not award the penalty.

As the game closed in on half-time, Collins headed Grealish’s shot off the line to save his side, before then making another huge interception to deny Haaland a tap in at the back post.

Wolves made it to half-time losing 1-0, when it could have been a more painful scoreline.

At the start of the second half, Lopetegui made a big call by taking his front three of Adama, Hwang and Raul Jimenez off. Joao Moutinho, Sarabia and Matheus Cunha all came on, with Sarabia making his debut.

City also made a change, by taking Lewis off for Ake. This meant John Stones moved to right-back, Laporte moved to centre-back and Ake slotted in at left-back.

The changes almost worked instantly when a Lemina cross found Sarabia, who came close with a header. He won a corner for his efforts, which came to nothing.

However, just minutes later, City won a penalty. There seemed to be minimal contact between Ruben Neves and Gundogan, but a spot-kick was awarded and Haaland converted it for his and City’s second of the game.

The hosts were in the mood and fully in control, when they almost scored a third shortly after. Grealish’s cross was met by Mahrez at the back post, but he could only direct a header into the side netting.

Wolves were on the back foot and managed to make life even more difficult for themselves when they handed City a third goal. In an attempt to play out from the back, goalkeeper Sa passed the ball directly to Mahrez who found Haaland for an easy tap in to secure his hat-trick.

As the hosts continued to press the action, Wolves wilted. A terrible pass from Collins allowed City to break, before Sa was closed down by De Bruyne and kicked the ball out for a throw-in. Wolves were handed a reprieve, however, when Haaland came off after an hour and Julian Alvarez replaced him.

Despite City’s dominance, Wolves carved out a good chance when Sarabia was found at the back post. His shot was blocked by Ake and Wolves appealed for a penalty, but nothing was given. The resulting corners came to nothing.

Mahrez did score City’s fourth, after being found by De Bruyne, but he was flagged offside and VAR confirmed the very tight call to save Wolves’ blushes.

Following that disallowed goal, Wolves brought on Daniel Podence for Lemina and the forward almost had an instinct impact. Cunha raced forward and found the winger, who looked to chip Ederson, but the goalkeeper got fingertips to it.

City were relentless, however, and were able to call upon their stacked bench in bring on Bernardo Silva and Kalvin Phillips after 76 minutes, replacing De Bruyne and Rodri.

They should have scored a fourth, too, when Gundogan was found with a free header at the back post but he nodded it over the bar.

Podence, who had looked lively since coming on, came close with a shot inside the box that hit the side netting.

Wolves continued to look shaky in defence, as they attempted to play out from the back, while Sa had a nightmare with his passing. City should have punished Wolves for their lacklustre display by adding more goals later in the game, but the hosts cruised to victory.

The result handed Wolves their second 3-0 battering from City this season, after the reverse fixture at Molineux in September.

Key Moments

40 GOAL Haaland heads home the opening

50 GOAL Haaland converts a penalty to make it 2-0

GOAL 54 Haaland completes his hat-trick

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Bueno (Ait-Nouri, 81), Lemina (Podence, 67), Neves, Nunes, Adama (Sarabia, 45), Jimenez (Cunha, 45), Hwang (Moutinho, 45).

Subs not used: Sarkic, Toti, Jonny, Costa.

Man City: Ederson, Lewis (Ake, 45), Stones, Akanji, Laporte, Rodri (Phillips, 76), Gundogan, De Bruyne (Silva, 76), Mahrez (Palmer, 81), Grealish, Haaland (Alvarez, 60).

Subs not used: Ortega, Dias, Walker, Cancelo.