Manchester City saw their best and unbeaten start to the 2023-24 Premier League season come to an end on Saturday as Wolves beat the three-time final champions 2-1 at the Stade Molineux.
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Wolves took the lead in the 13th minute and didn’t attempt their first shot until first-half stoppage time.
Man City hit back with a Julian Alvarez free-kick in the 58th minute, but the 1-1 score was short-lived as Wolves refused to give in and continued to create chaos on the counter-attack. Hwang Hee-Chan had his opening shot blocked, but the ball fell to Matheus Cunha at the top of the penalty area, and the Brazilian patiently returned it to Hwang as Ederson raced towards goal. Hwang shot home to the second post and found the back of the net to delight the Molineux. faithful once again.
Wolves aren’t the first team to think they can simply protect themselves deep and beat Manchester City on the counter, but they are the first to try to do so against the champions without Rodri (suspension), the linchpin of Pep Guardiola’s side, in the squad. Despite having only 3 shots in the game, Wolves discovered a lot of joy on the counter and forced City into a series of emergency defensive conditions on Saturday. Without Rodri to unite midfield and defence, Man City protected reactively rather than proactively winning the ball back and regaining possession.
Even when they managed to eliminate the danger, it was still a small win for Wolves as they brought Manchester City’s midfield and forwards into their defensive part to put out the fire. As a result, Erling Haaland found himself on an island (15 touches in 90 minutes), and the team’s 21 shots totaled 0. 80 xG (0. 04 per attempt).
Manchester City will look to return to winning tactics next Sunday (11:30 a. m. ET), when they head to north London to take on last season’s runners-up Arsenal in a clash of names earlier this season. But first, it will be Germany to face RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. Wolves will host fiery Aston Villa at Molineux the Sunday before (9 a. m. ET).
Goalscorers: Rubén Días (OG – 13′), Julián Álvarez (58′), Hwang Hee-Chan (66′)
Start: 10 a. m. ET, Saturday (September 30) TV Channel: Peacock Streaming: Watch on Peacock Premium
It was going to be a tough season for Wolves, but they’re betting more than their overall struggles suggest. But that wasn’t the case against Luton last week. Shocked by Bellegarde’s sending off, Gary O’Neil’s men still took the lead. They were then cancelled by a bizarre penalty resolution (the Wolves feel greatly harmed by referees’ rulings almost every week now) and may have simply lost the game. Still, four problems from six games don’t equate to disastrous problems overall and they’ve played incredibly well against some of the big boys, so maybe they can pull off a clash against City. Bellegarde will miss out on suspension, while Joe Hodge could be available.
The three-time winners look pretty unstoppable and Erling Haaland is in his rhythm with so many talented strikers around him purring. Yes, they are missing Kevin de Bruyne due to injury and now they will miss Rodri too, but this City team is so strong and each and every one is mobilising at each and every festival to achieve the task. In terms of injuries, Bernardo Silva and John Stones are recovering from their injuries, while Mateo Kovacic is fit, which is a great incentive and in combination with Kalvin Phillips will help fill Rodri’s important gap in midfield.
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