It’s been a season of little promise thus far for Wolves, but Pedro Neto has at least been one bright spark in their campaign. Their wing wizard was influential in them taking a surprise lead too, as his marauding run down the right culminated in Ruben Dias diverting his cross into his own net.
By no means did that goal mean Wolves could rest easy, with City one of the league’s comeback kings, but with Pep Guardiola serving a one-match touchline ban today, his side looked rather disjointed.
It wasn’t for the want of trying that City couldn’t draw level before the break, but they were simply finding Wolves difficult to break down, with their only real sight of goal coming in a goalmouth scramble that ultimately amounted to nothing.
Interestingly, Wolves went into half-time without as much as having a shot-on-target, yet incredibly led. Where there’s a will, there’s so often a way for City though, and they eventually carved out that golden chance that they’d been craving - one that Julian Alvarez was on hand to finish beautifully into the top corner
You’d have expected that goal to swing the pendulum firmly in City’s favour, but instead it was Wolves who responded themselves when Hwang Hee-chan restored their advantage, finished smartly from Matheus Cunha’s layoff.
City’s response was fairly muted, with Nathan Ake’s wayward header just about summing up their fortunes, but with Wolves’ advantage at just a solitary goal, you always sensed City were still firmly in the game.
That one truly golden opportunity City craved never really arrived, leaving them facing the journey back to Manchester on the back of a first league defeat of the season, and second in succession after their mid-week cup exit.
The day instead belonged to Wolves, who surprised the nation by securing a victory that steers them clear of the relegation zone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pedro Neto (Wolves)
