Manchester City were beaten in the Premier League for the first time this season thanks to Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan’s winner.
With Rodri suspended, Mateo Kovacic started in City’s holding role, while Toti started for Wolves in place of the suspended Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
And with City boss Pep Guardiola also serving a one-match ban for the touchline, it was Wolves who drew first blood at Molineux when Pedro Neto beat Nathan Aké with a powerful drive down the right before beating goalkeeper Ederson with the rebound. Ruben Dias.
Oscar Bobb came off the bench for City at half-time to replace Nunes, and it was the Norwegian who won the free-kick which Julian Álvarez whipped into the top corner for the equaliser.
But it was Wolves who struck next when some quick thinking from Matheus Cunha in the box set up Hwang Hee-chan to fire home to make it 2-1 with City’s defense stretched.
City looked for another equalizer but it never came and Gary O’Neil’s men held on for a huge victory.
Man City player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Ederson – 6/10 – Had absolutely nothing to do aside from picking the ball out of his net. Couldn’t do anything about the own goal.
RB: Kyle Walker – 6/10 – Did his best to progress the ball and make something happen. Enjoyed his battle with Hwang as well.
CB: Manuel Akanji – 5/10 – Didn’t show enough urgency in possession, with Wolves more than happy to dance to his slow tempo.
CB: Ruben Dias – 5/10 – Unfortunate to concede the own goal but didn’t exactly inspire confidence for the rest of the game anyway.
LB: Nathan Ake – 4/10 – Couldn’t keep up with Neto at all. Clearly reluctant to push too far forwards out of fear of getting caught out of possession.
DM: Matheus Nunes – 5/10 – With every touch earning a chorus of boos, Matheus was guilty of trying to force a pass when one wasn’t on. Hooked at the break.
DM: Mateo Kovacic – 5/10 – Guilty of playing a little too direct. Drove aimless passes into Haaland which were never going to stick.
RM: Phil Foden – 6/10 – Buzzed around trying to make something happen but Wolves’ deep block made it incredibly tough for him.
AM: Julian Alvarez – 6/10 – Another of those games in which Alvarez’s limited experience as a midfielder was evident. Needed a moment of quality from a free-kick to really impact the game.
LM: Jeremy Doku – 5/10 – Ran a lot and looked like he could provide a spark at any given moment, but Wolves focused on shutting him down and often forced some sloppy mistakes.
ST: Erling Haaland – 3/10 – This was one of those games for Haaland. Barely involved at all and forced to work with ill-advised passes.
Substitutes
SUB: Oscar Bobb (46′ for Matheus) – 6/10 – Lively and dangerous on the ball.
SUB: Kalvin Phillips (65′ for Kovacic) – 5/10 – Failed to bring anything of note to the game.
SUB: Jack Grealish (80′ for Ake) – N/A
Subs not used: Stefan Ortega (GK), Scott Carson (GK), Sergio Gomez, Rico Lewis, Josko Gvardiol
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 4/10 – Serving a surprise touchline ban, Guardiola’s side were tame and his substitutions appeared a little scattergun, with City losing their structure in their desperate search for an equaliser.
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