That’s it from me, I’ll leave you with Jamie Jackson’s match report. Bye!
The thoughts of Bruno Lage
“Our plan was right. When we played 11 v 11 we were [in control]. In the end, zero points, but I am very proud of my penalty. For me it wasn’t a penalty – the referee’s decision and the VAR decision were very, very strange. VAR is very good for modern football, but come on.
“[Raul Jimenez] knows he cannot do that, I have already spoken to him. But the first yellow card was harsh - he didn’t touch [Rodri] and we had 10 men behind the ball. I don’t like to talk about referees. We move on now, eyes on Brighton.”
The thoughts of Raheem Sterling
“Every time we play Wolves it’s difficult, they’re always tough to break down. It’s a lovely achievement [scoring 100 Premier League goals]. There are some fantastic players who’ve done it to so I’m really glad to be in there.
“Each game has different challenges, and against 10 men we had to be patient. They kept it really tight but we know that if we kept playing we’d get an opportunity, and we did.”
“Not to labour the point but Kilman’s block at the end there hit his arm,” says Toby Podmore. “Where is the refereeing consistency?”
I thought we’d established that it’s only a penalty when it doesn’t hit your arm?
Still want more?
Sure you do.
City were much the better team, even before Raul Jimenez was sent off in first-half injury time, but they needed a questionable penalty to break down an admirable Wolves defence. Raheem Sterling scored it, his 100th Premier League goal, and Wolves never really looked like equalising.
Full time: Manchester City 1-0 Wolves
Peep peep! Manchester City stay top of the Premier League after a laboured win over 10-man Wolves.
90+2 min The resulting corner hits the unsighted Kilman, six yards out, and loops through to Ederson. With a clear view of the ball that would have been a decent chance.
90+2 min: Ederson saves from Kilman! Wolves almost steal an equaliser. Ait-Nouri plays in the overlapping Podence, whose deep cross is headed towards goal by Kilman. Ederson stretches to tip it over - a comfortable save, in truth, but a dramatic moment and a reminder of Ederson’s existence after 90 minutes of anonymity.
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90+1 min Kilman makes a great block to deny Foden, who was eight yards out when he sidefooted Sterling’s cross towards goal. Wolves’ three central defenders have all played really well.
90 min Four minutes of added time.
89 min Sterling shoots straight at Jose Sa from 25 yards, a tame effort. Sa has made a lot of saves today, but they’ve all been relatively straightforward for a quality goalkeeper. It’s been a weird game. Wolves will certainly feel they could have held out, even with 10 men, but for that dodgy penalty.
89 min Zinchenko’s low cross finds Foden in a bit of space in the area. He smacks a shot on the turn that is beaten away by Sa, moving smartly to his left.
87 min Another change: Daniel Podence replaces Dendoncker.
85 min Wolves are having a decent spell, their best of the match in terms of possession. Ederson is still able to meditate, mind you, as it’s all in the middle third.
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83 min De Bruyne slightly overhits an angled through ball to Jesus, which pushes him wide. With the perfect weight of pass, Jesus would have been clear on goal.
82 min Another change for Wolves: Trincao replaces Ruben Neves, which means as switch to 5-2-2 for the last 10 minutes or so.
81 min Cancelo is booked for fouling Hwang, who has been bright since coming on for Traore.
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81 min The resulting corner is headed straight at Jose Sa by Rodri, six yards out.
81 min De Bruyne plays a through ball to Jesus in the inside-left channel. He takes the shot first time from a tight angle, battering it with his left foot, and Jose Sa pushes it past the near post. Good save.
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80 min Rodri, who has already been blocked, fouls Ait-Nouri on the halfway line. It didn’t merit a second yellow card, but it did stop the attack. For all their brilliance with the ball, City are world-class at judging what fouls they can and can’t get away with.
78 min “You’ve got to feel for Moutinho, because his arm WAS in an unnatural position, but the ball didn’t hit it,” says Toby Podmore. “If he had had his arm in a natural position, the ball would have hit it and that, ironically enough, would have meant that it wasn’t handball.”
77 min This game is over, City are just passing the clock down. I’m still trying to evaluate that penalty decision to be honest.
74 min “That was never a penalty,” says Rick Harris. “What is the point of having VAR if Jon Moss’s mate won’t point out to him the ball was deflected on to the arm by the player’s body?”
Is that still the law? I can never remember what they did and didn’t change during last season’s moral panic.
73 min The inescapable futility of life, part three: Jack Grealish is replaced by Kevin De Bruyne.
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72 min More chances for City, again created by a run down the right from Sterling. His low cross finds Grealish, whose backheel is blocked. The ball runs to Bernardo Silva, whose shot also hits a Wolves defender.
70 min: Grealish misses an excellent chance! The tireless Sterling scampers down the right and curls in a wicked cross. The stretching Jesus misses it and Grealish, six yards out at the far post, slices it wide. It bounced a bit awkwardly, and he might have seen it late, but he should still have scored.
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68 min Wolves have brought on Hwang Hee-Chan for Adama Traore, who worried City without really threatening to score.
67 min You have to feel for Wolves. I’m not sure it was a penalty in the first place. And even if it was, the law is an ass.
Sterling has never been much of a penalty taker, but he took that one with aplomb. He waited for Sa to dive to his right and then passed the ball slowly down the middle. That was like watching Eden Hazard in his Chelsea pomp.
GOAL! Man City 1-0 Wolves (Sterling 66 pen)
Raheem Sterling scores his 100th Premier League goal!
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PENALTY GIVEN!
VAR check A replay from the side shows that the ball hit Moutinho’s side first, and then probably deflected onto his outstretched arm.
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Bernardo Silva’s cross from the right hit Moutinho, who had his arm raised - but the issue is whether it hit him on the arm or just below the armpit. It’s hard to be sure but I think it was the latter, and therefore not a penalty. But you can argue it’s inconclusive and therefore not a clear and obvious error by Jon Moss, and here we go again.
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63 min: PENALTY TO CITY! Wolves are absolutely fuming.
63 min “I think games like this expose City’s lack of a direct goalscorer,” says Mike Gleeson. “A quick Google told me that Jesus has underperformed his xG every season for City. If they don’t get a proper goalscorer in January, I can’t see them winning the league or Champions League this season. Games like this could cost them.”
Cristiano Ronaldo would have scored 50 goals for this team, wouldn’t he? Haaland will probably score 500.
61 min Cancelo’s long-range shot is blocked, and it almost feels tautologous to say that Coady was the defender in question.
60 min Sterling runs at Ait-Nouri and goes over in the area. At first I thought Ait-Nouri got the ball but replays show he didn’t. I’m not sure he fouled Sterling either, though, and more importantly nor does Jon Moss. I’d like to see it again, mind, as I don’t think Sterling dived this time.
59 min Zinchenko’s deep, hanging cross is headed straight at Jose Sa by Bernardo Silva, a few yards out. He was backpedalling but still, that was a chance. He should probably have headed it back across goal or left it to Sterling behind him.
59 min Sterling plays in the overlapping Cancelo, whose fast cross is punched away by Jose Sa. It’s a matter of time.
58 min Zinchenko mistimes a shot from 20 yards that bobbles through to Jose Sa. I think it was going wide anyway.
57 min Jon Moss has a word with Conor Coady about Wolves’ leisurely approach to restarting play.
56 min A City change: Ilkay Gundogan is replaced by Phil Foden.
55 min: Off the line by Coady! City worked the ball from left to right, where Cancelo lifted a nice cross back towards the far post. Gundogan pulled away from the Wolves defence and headed over Jose Sa, only for Coady to appear and head off the line. He’s having a terrific game.
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54 min “Jack Grealish is still, I think, the player with the most transitions (both runs and passes) in the Premier League this year,” says Joe Harvey. “ A player like that is useful for limited teams because it means you don’t need to sacrifice an attacker for another player who can advance the ball. City aren’t a limited team and they refuse to play two forwards so…. both Sterling and Grealish look a bit pointless sometimes. Pep’s good at this, and Grealish is good positionally, but it’s still weird.”
It wouldn’t shock me if it didn’t work out – Pep has had a few over the years – but I’d definitely give it two seasons. It’s daft how quickly new signings, especially creative players, are judged these days. Did we learn nothing from the Pires Principle?!
53 min Sterling makes a brilliant, weaving run into the area and then dives after feeling a slight tug on the arm from Ait-Nouri. No penalty.
53 min Cancelo’s cutback is volleyed over by Jesus, launching himself in front of Coady at the near post. It came at breast height so it wasn’t a great chance.
52 min Grealish’s teasing cross is headed away by Coady, perfectly positioned at the near post.
51 min Cancelo’s cross is headed behind by Dendoncker, which gives City their fifth corner of the second half alone.
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50 min Rodri’s long-range shot is blocked. City have been brilliant since half-time, with Wolves sstruggling to get out of their quarter.
48 min The intensity with which City have started the second half suggests Pep had the hairdryer out at half-time. They win two more corners in quick succession, the second after Laporte’s shot hits the heel of the outrushing Coady.
48 min Traore beats three players on a promising run before being dispossessed by Zinchenko.
47 min “Ferdinand makes an interesting point re: Kilman’s lean (sounds like a real ale actually),” says Stephen Carr. “Perhaps the VAR boffins could deploy the same technology that a newspaper used to assess Jeremy Corbyn’s perceived lack of respect by not bowing to an acceptable angle at the Cenotaph a few years back.”
46 min An early effort from Jesus, whose left-footed shot from 16 yards deflects behind off Coady.
46 min Peep peep! City begin the second half.
On BT Sport, Rio Ferdinand points out that Max Kilman did lean in to that cross from Grealish just before half-time, so a penalty could legitimately have been given. His arm was by his side, but you could argue he was not in a natural position because he was leaning. I can see both sides!
Half-time reading
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“Evening Rob,” says Neill Brown. “I think that Jack Grealish’s talents don’t fit this team. He’s an all-action, give-it-to-me, ‘Roy of the Rovers was based on me, actually’ player like Le Tissier or Gerrard. Are we currently seeing with Grealish what we could have seen with Le Tissier at Man U or Gerrard at Chelsea? i.e. a leading man underwhelming in a supporting role. Asking Grealish to play this way is like asking Adele to whisper Tricky’s vocals in Aftermath: poor use of excellent resources. Anyway, I look forward to his second half hat-trick.”
I know exactly what you mean, though Pep likes to reassign mavericks. I’d be loath to judge him until his second season. But you reminded me of Aftermath, so that’s a good thing.
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Half time: Man City 0-0 Wolves
That was a bit weird. Wolves did a fine job defensively, restricting City to half chances. But their job will be a lot harder in the second half after Raul Jimenez was sent off for rank nincompoopery on the stroke of half-time.
45+7 min Grealish appeals desperately for a penalty when his cross his the arm of Kilman in the area. Jon Moss had a poor view and waved play on. The arm was by Kilman’s side, so even VAR will struggle to give that one.
45+5 min Zinchenko’s fast cross is absorbed by the left boot of Bernardo Silva near the penalty spot. He tries to find an angle for the shot, can’t and instead plays the ball back to Gundogan in the D, and his mishit shot bobbles well wide.
45+5 min Wolves are now playing 8-0-1, with Adama Traore as the one.
45+4 min It took Jimenez about two minutes to leave the field. Ruben Neves has also been booked for dissent. Not sure what Wolves are complaining about really - it was utterly brainless from Jimenez. There were 48 seconds between the two yellow cards.
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Having just been booked for fouling Rodri, Jimenez stood two yards away from the ball to stop him taking a quick free-kick. Eventually Rodri took it, Jimenez stuck out a leg to block it, and Jon Moss was a slave to the laws of football: he wearily showed a second yellow, knowing he was about to get pelters for doing his job properly. The Wolves players obliged.
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RAUL JIMENEZ IS SENT OFF!
45+2 min Oh this is sheer ridiculous football.
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45+1 min Now Jimenez is booked a foul on Rodri. Pep is waving his arms around about something or other; he doesn’t exactly look high on life.
45+1 min There will be seven minutes of added time, mostly because of that clash of heads between Kilman and Neves.
45 min Gundogan’s deflected cross from the left is headed behind by the diligent Coady. Grealish takes the corner and Jimenez heads away.
43 min Now Rodri is booked for a foul on Traore, who was just about to go through the gears. City are scared of him, NQAT.
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43 min Gunodgan’s cross is headed clear. Wolves have defended with calm authority in this half.
42 min Grealish, hitherto quiet, is fouled 22 yards from goal by Coady. The free-kick is almost in line with the right edge of the penalty area, with Gundogan over the ball.It’ll be a cross rather than a shot.
40 min Ruben Dias goes through the back of Traore near the halfway line and is booked.
40 min Saiss is now being booed every time the ball goes near him.
39 min When the corner is finally taken, Laporte heads wide from Grealish’s outswinger. That was half a chance, though he might have been put off by Rodri (I think) diving in front of him.
36 min Sterling gets the wrong side of Saiss in the area and slides a cross that is put behind for a corner. By that stage Saiss has gone down holding his face, and there’s a bit of posturing by the players on both sides. My first thought was that he was trying it on, though replays show that Sterling did catch him with a flailing arm. It was similar to that Son/McTominay incident at Spurs last season - Sterling caught Saiss him with his fingers, possibly in the eye, rather than an elbow.
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34 min Play resumes approximately five minutes after the clash of heads.
33 min Neves is on his feet now, having a concussion test as I type. He wasn’t cut, as it turned out, though Kilman is sporting a nice black bandage around his noggin.
32 min Neves is sitting up now. It looks like both players want to continue, though I’m sure they’ll be given concussion tests first.
31 min Bruno Lage takes the opportunity to give Jimenez and Traore some detailed instructions. It pains me to say it, but I fear the days when tactical instructions amounted to “go and cause some bollocks, Billy” might be numbered.
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30 min Kilman is having his head bandaged. Neves is still lying on his back, though he is conscious.
29 min There’s a nasty clash of heads between Kilman and Neves, who were both concentrating only on the ball. Kilman has some blood running down his face; Neves is still on his back receiving treatment.
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28 min Grealish is challenged well by Neves, with the ball going behind for a corner. Gunodgan clips it in and Jose Sa punches clear.
26 min Wolves haven’t been able to get Traore in the game. I can remember only one attack, that promising break in the sixth minute, when he has been on the ball for more than a couple of seconds.
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24 min Another bit of Cancelo culture, a lovely flip over the top that almost puts Sterling through on goal. Jose Sa comes off his line to clear the danger.
23 min Jimenez is fouled on the left wing, 40 yards from goal. Ait-Nouri’s outswinging free-kick is headed well wide by Jimenez on the edge of the area. I’m no xG hero but I can tell you that wasn’t much of a chance.
22 min Make that two saves: Cancelo cuts across a drive from 25 yards that is well held by Jose Sa.
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21 min City have been totally dominant, though Jose Sa has only had one save to make, and it was an easy one.
19 min Jesus robs Neves right on the edge of the Wolves area. Having done so he should square the ball to Bernardo Silva, but delays for a split second and is tackled by Kilman. City wantd a penalty; Jon Moss isn’t interested.
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15 min We’re having some technical problems, I’m afraid, though you haven’t missed anything of note.
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11 min Grealish and Jesus have swapped places. I suspect that’ll happen a few times this afternoon, and I’ll almost certainly fail to inform you every time it does.
10 min Cancelo fires a pass into Bernardo Silva on the edge of the area. He shuffles inside, onto his left foot, and hits a rising drive just past the far post. Another good effort, though not one about which Jose Sa looked particularly worried.
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7 min Cancelo, 30 yards out, whistles a rising drive just over the bar. Jose Sa was comfortable that it was off target, but it was still a decent effort.
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6 min Now they do cross the halfway line, but a promising attack ends with Neves’s cross dribbles through to Ederson.
6 min I’m not sure Wolves have crossed the halfway line since the kick off
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5 min Gunodgan’s corner is poor and doesn’t beat the front man.
4 min Cancelo wins a corner for City, who have started with intent.
2 min An early half chance for City. Cancelo curls a nice pass into Sterling, who gets the wrong side of Saiss but can only force a shot straight at Jose Sa. I think Sterling was half expecting to be tripped from behind as Saiss was right up against him.
2 min City have started with Raheem Sterling on the right, Gabriel Jesus on the left and Jack Grealish as the false nine.
1 min Peep peep! Wolves, in their black change strip, kick off from right to let. City are in sky blue.
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Here come the players, most of them hiding under tracksuit tops. December in Manchester.
“A sterling attempt to create some sense of parity between these two teams, Rob,” says Dean Kinsella. “But there are three players on the City bench in De Bruyne, Foden and Mahrez who would likely be the best player at 90 per cent of the other Premiership clubs.”
I make it 89.47368421 per cent, which is coincidentally the amount of possession City are going to have in the first 10 minutes.
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Pep speaks!
“We expect a tough game, as it always is against Wolves. [Is Kyle Walker on the naughty step after his red card against Leipzig?] No, it’s the way we want to attack. We have many alternatives - sometimes we decide to pick one player ahead of another. It’s never because we don’t like them, nothing like that, it’s just the team we have picked for today.”
Raheem Sterling: 99 not out
"Against Watford I shot more than I ever have before, trying to get to 100."
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 11, 2021
"I'm trying to become the highest-scoring English player in the #UCL, I'm not going to hide it."
Fast approaching a century of Premier League goals, @sterling7 is aiming high on and off the pitch ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/bZ2Unosv5c
Bruno Lage speaks!
“I want the players to be confident when we have the ball. City are very patient, which is why I chose an extra midfielder. But they can give you space as well, and when we have space I want us to play our game.”
The inescapable futility of existence (Premier League edition)
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Team news
City make two changes from their last league game - Oleksandr Zinchenko for Kyle Walker, Gabriel Jesus for Phil Foden. It looks like an extra man in midfield for Wolves, with Joao Moutinho replacing Hwang Hee-Chan.
Manchester City (4-1-2-3) Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko; Rodri; Bernardo, Gundogan; Jesus, Grealish, Sterling.
Substitutes: Steffen, Walker, Ake, Stones, De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Foden, Palmer, Mahrez.
Wolverhampton Wanders (5-3-2) Jose Sa; Semedo, Kilman, Coady, Saiss, Ait-Nouri; Dendoncker, Neves, Moutinho; Traore, Jimenez.
Substitutes: Ruddy, Hoever, Marcal, Boly, Podence, Cundle, Trincao, Fabio Silva, Hwang.
Referee Jonathan Moss.
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Preamble
Styles make fights. Wolves aren’t quite the rock to Manchester City’s scissors, but they are dangerous opponents for a Pep Guardiola team. The reasons for that are pretty simple: streetwise defending (only the top three have conceded fewer goals this season), the guile of Raul Jimenez and, most of all, the spasmodic unplayability of Adama Traore.
Traore produced two of the best performances of his career when Wolves did the double over City in 2019-20. Even last season, when City beat Wolves 3-1 and 4-1, they had to work pretty hard. The first of those games was 2-1 after 90 minutes; the second was 1-1 after 79.
I realise I might be reaching, trying to convince myself this won’t be another routine home win for City, full of longeurs in which we - and the Wolves players - ruminate on the inescapable futility of existence. City are starting to look ominous, and they went top for the first time this season when they beat Watford last weekend. But if you look a bit closer, their home form in the league has been relatively poor. Since starting the season with back-to-back eviscerations of Norwich and Arsenal, their results at the Etihad have been 0-0, 2-0, 0-2, 3-0, 2-1. Ten points in five games: Pep out.
Wolves are in eighth place, the best of the Small 14 apart from West Ham, but their form isn’t great either. They’ve scored only once in their last five games, in a 1-0 win over the aforementioned Hammers, and suffered a distressing last-gasp defeat to Liverpool last week.
In short, nobody knows anything, but we’re about to find out.
Kick off 12.30pm.
