Jamie Jackson was at the Etihad tonight. His report has landed, so you know what to do: clickity click! Meanwhile thanks for reading this MBM. Stay safe. Nighty night!
Nuno’s turn. “First half we were organised but not a threat ... it was difficult to recover the ball ... in the second much better until we reached the draw ... but after the draw we lost control of the game again and made clear mistakes ... but we were in the game at 1-1 and threatening ... but the game went away from us ... we were 1-1, and that says the team was compact and organised ... City are very talented ... the way they press and recover the ball really punishes you.”
Pep talks. “Well deserved ... it was a fantastic game ... we suffered because we conceded a goal with their first shot on target ... it is so difficult to play against them ... but we were fantastic ... we played really well ... after 1-1 we suffered for five minutes, but calmed that situation and we created a lot of chances at the end ... yeah, well deserved ... we lost two balls because we wanted attack too quick ... sometimes you need more process ... but the rest was brilliant.” He’s then asked about continuing the 21-match winning run, and his answer is simple: “Man United.” He’s not deviating from his mantra: one game at a time.
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Riyad Mahrez, named man of the match, speaks to BT Sport. “It was a tough game ... I think we started very, very good ... we could have killed the game in the first half ... it was offside for maybe this [pinches thumb and forefinger] ... second half was more difficult, they pressed higher ... they managed to score but we finished very good, we never gave up, kept pressing and made chances to score ... sometimes you can have the ball for 95 percent but you have to kill the game and we didn’t do it in the first half ... the last ten minutes was so good ... we are very happy, we keep going ... we have to play game by game and see what happens ... the quality of every player is so good and everyone makes his contribution.”
Pep Guardiola’s relentless side now have a 15-point lead at the top of the Premier League table. Manchester United, in second, come to the Etihad on Sunday. Should City win the derby, making it 22 wins on the bounce, they’ll surely be home and hosed. They’re surely home and hosed even if they don’t. Meanwhile Wolves, for all their second-half effort, remain in 12th with 34 points.
FULL TIME: Manchester City 4-1 Wolverhampton Wanderes
That’s the final act of the evening. As contradictory as it may sound, the 4-1 scoreline is the least City deserve for their dominance, determination and overall panache, and yet simultaneously harsh on Wolves, who came so close to eking out a draw, and even threatened to find a winner for a while. City are 21 up!
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GOAL! Manchester City 4-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Jesus 90+3)
Gundogan aims for the bottom right. Rui Patricio parries well, but the rebound falls to Jesus, who slams home. The flag goes up for offside, and the referee initially rules it out, but VAR spots Coady playing Jesus onside. Goal!
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90 min +2: A huge sigh of relief for City, who were made to work hard to keep their winning streak alive.
90 min +1: The first of three added minutes is mainly taken up with cavorting.
GOAL! Manchester City 3-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Mahrez 90)
The sub’s first touch gifts City the clincher. Otasowie dawdles with the ball at his feet, just inside his own box. Rodri strips him and feeds Gundogan inside. Gundogan and Sterling combine to tee up Mahrez, who sweeps into the bottom left. 21 up!
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89 min: Walker is forced to reach top speed to deny Neto a free run down the left. That’s almost as valuable as his assist. Staunch, with City otherwise extremely light at the back. Otasowie replaces Neves.
87 min: Moutinho whips to the near post. Laporte heads clear. Neto sends it back in from the left. Dendoncker slams a header miles over the bar. Half a chance, if not a sitter.
86 min: But here we go. Neto takes on Walker down the left and earns a corner. Moutinho, their dead-ball specialist, races over to take.
85 min: Wolves seem a little stunned, having done so well to hold City to a one-goal lead, then haul themselves level. For a while, they threatened to take the lead themselves, until City settled. They haven’t really responded to Jesus’ goal.
83 min: City were rocking for a few minutes after Wolves’ equaliser, but how they cleared their heads, gathering themselves to come at their opponents again, like a train! What moxie! Mentality monsters, to borrow a phrase coined by last season’s champions.
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81 min: Gundogan comes on for Silva.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Jesus 80)
Mahrez slides Walker clear down the right. Walker fizzes into a crowded six-yard box, looking for Sterling. The ball clanks off Dendoncker’s heel, teeing up Jesus, six yards out. Jesus makes no mistake, slamming home, and City’s run is back on!
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79 min: City are pressing hard. Wolves are holding firm. But then ...
77 min: Yep, this is locked into a groove alright. Once again, Wolves half-clear a corner. Once again, Sterling looks to send a curler into the top right. This one’s beaten Rui Patricio, but shaves the outside of the post. Sterling cocks his head back and wails in frustration. Such a good effort. He’s been marvellous tonight.
76 min: Wolves half-clear the corner. City come again, Rodri crossing from the right. Coady again heading out for a corner. Wolves half-clear again. Sterling tries a curler towards the top right. Blocked. Another corner. Safe to say a pattern is developing.
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75 min: Mahrez probes down the right. He curls in low. Coady dives low to turn the ball out for a corner. “Here in Finland we get the official Premier League broadcast,” reports Kári Tulinius. “When Coady headed it in, the score ticked up to 2-0. I understand the scorekeeper, the idea that anyone but City would score the next goal seemed ludicrous, the game had settled for a nap under a blanket of City domination.”
73 min: Mahrez crosses from the right. Jesus prepares to flick goalwards, but Coady eyebrows out for a corner, then clears the set piece himself. Coady is really putting in a captain’s shift here. But then City come back at Wolves, Silva rolling a ball down the right for Mahrez, who crosses low. Sterling elegantly back-flicks towards the bottom left. It flies inches wide. Wow! What a finish that would have been.
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71 min: Neto becomes the first man to go in the referee’s notebook, for a cynical clip on De Bruyne’s ankle. City load the box for the resulting free kick, but nothing occurs.
70 min: Wolves have come alive, City are suddenly all over the shop, and good luck guessing which way this is going to go. Moutinho crunches into Rodri and sends Wolves on a five-on-three counter. Traore lashes wastefully over the bar. City go up the other end, De Bruyne slamming a shot straight at Rui Patricio from the edge of the box.
69 min: The corner’s worked long to Hoever on the left. His low cross is deflected off Laporte, towards the bottom left. Ederson reacts extremely well to change direction and gather, because that was squeaking into the corner.
68 min: City want to watch themselves here, mind you. Traore makes a bit of space for himself on the edge of the City box, and shoots. Dias does extremely well to arrive on the scene and block. But Wolves come again, Traore burning a path down the right and pearling a rising shot towards the top right. It’s deflected off Dias, and sails inches wide of goal for Wolves’ first corner of the match.
66 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner. A couple of City players already wearing furrowed brows of frustration. A bit too early to get down on yourselves, chaps.
65 min: Silva threads a pass down the inside right and releases Jesus into the box. He’s one on one with the keeper, albeit facing a tight angle. His low drive is heading across Rui Patricio and into the bottom left, but the keeper sticks out a toe to deflect it out wide for a corner! What a save that was.
63 min: Jesus tries to respond immediately with a bustle down the right, but his powerful shot is always rising over the bar. All of a sudden, that 20-game winning run looks in jeopardy!
62 min: All that possession, and City have been punished by Wolves’ first foray into their area! That was Wolves first touch in the City box, and Ederson is still yet to make a save.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Coady 61)
Wolves are level, City are stunned! Moutinho curls towards the far post. Dias has dropped too deep, allowing Coady to power through and stoop to steer a header into the bottom right!
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60 min: Wolves work their way back into the game, pinging some passes of their own hither and yon. Suddenly Neto springs in from the right and finds Moutinho, who is clattered from behind by Rodri. A free kick, 30 yards out, just to the right of centre.
58 min: City continue to hog possession, but they’re not pinging it around at quite the same speed of earlier.
56 min: Wolves make the first change of the match. Silva comes on for Jonny.
55 min: De Bruyne romps down the left with a view to cutting back for Sterling, but runs the ball out of play for a goal kick. The overall quality of City’s play hasn’t been matched by their actions in the Wolves box.
54 min: Mahrez drops a shoulder to swan in from the right. He aims for the top left, but Rui Patricio parries with strong hands. City are asking questions again.
53 min: Rodri bulldozes his way down the inside left, all the way into the box. He shapes to shoot, but lumbers a little, and by the time he’s sorted himself out, Wolves can block.
51 min: Sterling backheels De Bruyne into space down the inside-left channel. That’s a lovely touch. De Bruyne enters the box and whistles a low diagonal shot towards the bottom right. Rui Patricio fingertips the ball inches wide of the post. Nothing comes of the resulting corner. So close to a second!
49 min: Silva surveys his options on the edge of the Wolves box on the right. Walker tears past him, begging to be sent clear on the overlap. Silva delays the pass, and by the time he plays it, Walker is miles off. City come again, Sterling, De Bruyne and Cancelo combining down the left, the latter crossing into an area bereft of City players. Wolves clear.
47 min: Traore runs down the middle of the park, De Bruyne yet again shipping possession uncharacteristically easily. He’s got Neto in acres on the left, and should release him on goal, with City light at the back, but opts for Semedo to the right instead. There’s nowhere for Semedo to go, and the chance to stun City early in the second half is spurned.
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City get the second half underway. No changes to either side.
Half-time chores. Quickly clean the kitchen. Put out the bins. Pop into the Little Room to attend to personal affairs. Pour yourself a beer. Sign up for the Fiver.
HALF TIME: Manchester City 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Jesus skitters down the left. His shot is blocked and loops towards Bernardo, just by the right hand post. Bernardo heads down towards the corner. Rui Patricio saves, and Bernardo skies the rebound. And that’s the final act of a half which City have dominated, Wolves nearly passed into submission ... but there’s only one goal in it. Both managers, for different reasons, will go in feeling a strange mixture of contentment and frustration.
45 min: Closer than I thought. But Laporte was an inch or so ahead of Dendoncker, and it’s still 1-0.
44 min: Mahrez’s corner is half cleared. Semedo is robbed by Jesus, who slips the ball down the right for Mahrez. A cross towards the far post is helped on towards Laporte, who slams home. They celebrate, but surely that’s going to be ruled out for offside.
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43 min: De Bruyne shoots from 25 yards. It’s deflected out for another corner on the right.
41 min: Neto carelessly gives the ball away with a blind infield pass to Jesus, allowing the striker to scoot towards the Wolves box. The ball’s worked wide left to Sterling, whose shot is blocked and loops towards Jesus. He chests down for Mahrez. His shot is deflected out for a corner, which is claimed easily by Rui Patricio.
39 min: A rare period of possession for Wolves in the midfield. Hoever is once again waiting in acres on the right touchline, but by the time Moutinho eventually finds him, he’s surrounded and gives up possession. Wolves punished for being too ponderous.
37 min: De Bruyne drives down the left and feeds Cancelo on the overlap. Cancelo wins a corner, but he’s correctly flagged offside, having carelessly gone too soon.
36 min: City with more of the sterile possession in the midfield.
34 min: Mahrez leaves Jonny in a cloud of cartoon dust. Off he goes down the right, before turning around and beating him again for good measure. Nothing comes of the run, and once again City fail to convert pretty play into a genuine chance. But it’s not going to take much for them to start clicking again.
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32 min: Silva has an opportunity to release Jesus down the right, but doesn’t hit the pass. If there’s one criticism of City tonight, it’s their inability to find the killer final ball. Rui Patricio hasn’t been called into action too many times, despite all of the home side’s possession.
31 min: Silva and Mahrez combine cutely down the right, the latter pulling back from a tight angle. For once there’s nobody in the middle to take advantage, and Semedo is on hand to clear.
29 min: Moutinho spreads a lovely diagonal ball towards Hoever on the right touchline. The young defender is in acres of space, and he’s got time to consider his options, so you can picture the look on his face after clumping a clumsy and witless first-time cross deep into the stand behind the goal.
27 min: Suddenly the pace is stepped up, and De Bruyne nearly finds Sterling down the inside-left with a forensic pass. Just a little too much juice on it; goal kick.
26 min: City spend a couple of minutes stroking it around the back in late-70s Liverpool style. Just because they can.
24 min: De Bruyne isn’t going to play three bad balls in a row, and here he whips a stunning reverse pass down the left, inches away from releasing Jesus into the box. Rui Patricio comes to the edge of his area to claim, in the nick of time.
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22 min: Traore tries to capitalise on another loose De Bruyne pass in midfield, but as he strides into the opposition half, Laporte comes in to forcefully block and clear. Traore takes a whack on the shin for his trouble. He’s up and about soon enough. That was another City error, though, and those careless balls will give Wolves a little succour. Goodness knows they need some.
20 min: City quickly re-establish their attacking dominance. De Bruyne nearly finds Mahrez in space on the right. Jonny gets eyebrows on the pass, just in time. On the touchline, Nuno looks concerned, and with good reason.
19 min: De Bruyne loses possession in the centre circle, and Wolves make it to City’s final third for the first time this evening. Traore, Semedo and Neto try to work something down the right, but they’re soon forced to turn tail. Small acorns, all that.
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17 min: City continue to stroke and strut, strut and stroke. They are purring, and that goal had been coming, even though we’d barely played 15 minutes.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Dendoncker og 15)
More bother for Dendoncker. Rodri, quarterbacking from deep, sends a sensational diagonal pass towards Mahrez on the right. Mahrez enters the box and fires an unplayable low cross into the six-yard box. Dendoncker sticks out a leg to stop Sterling tapping home, and can only fizz the ball into his own net. There was nothing the poor guy could do. But what a pass, what a move. City are astonishing.
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13 min: Dendoncker is in all sorts of trouble down by his left-hand corner flag. Under severe pressure, he clips a reverse pass up the flank to Rodri, who immediately sends Sterling scampering into the box, down the inside left. He reaches the byline but can’t find Jesus at the near post. Rui Patricio claims.
11 min: According to the pass-o-meter, City have so far made 107 passes to Wolverhampton’s 15. That seems extremely generous to Wolves. Is that thing broken?
10 min: Mahrez curls dangerously in from the right. Sterling, who generates some spring despite his average stature, nearly gets his head on the ball at the far post. Rui Patricio has to stand tall in order to punch clear.
9 min: Coady makes a meal of clearing, and gifts De Bruyne a shot from the left of the D. His blooter is deflected out for City’s second corner of the evening. Wolves take the best part of a minute to clear the corner, but after a game of head tennis, manage it eventually.
7 min: The possession-o-meter reading so far: 87 percent for City, 13 percent for Wolves. That seems extremely generous to Wolves. Is that thing broken?
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6 min: City aren’t giving Wolves a second’s peace. Moutinho is robbed by Sterling, who drops a shoulder in an attempt to make room, 25 yards out, but can’t quite get a shot away.
4 min: Cancelo and De Bruyne combine down the left. Dendoncker hectically hacks the latter’s cross clear. Wolves have barely touched the ball. By the looks of it, they’re in for a long night.
3 min: Nothing comes of City’s first, but not, I’ll be bound, their last, corner.
2 min: City quickly establish a possession tip. It’s not long before Cancelo rolls a glorious pass down the inside-left channel for Sterling, who enters the box and looks to chip over Rui Patricio. The keeper blocks and it’s just a corner.
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Wolves get the ball rolling ... but only after taking the knee. There’s no room for racism. Kick it out.
Pre-match title sequence. Rest well, Saint.
The teams are out! It’s a cold, clear, crisp evening in Manchester. City wear their famous sky blue, while Wolves trot out in third-choice red. We’ll be off in a minute. Meanwhile, with City chasing the world record of 27 consecutive wins set by the New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid, Graham Moger ponders one of the Welsh club’s previous guise: “Total Network Solutions is arguably the best team name I’m aware of. After Young Boys obviously.” Surely the time-honoured answer to this question is the Eswatini collective Eleven Men In Flight, although Pellets, recently dropped by Spurs in the Europa League, seem to be getting some traction at the moment, presumably on account of being one of those words, like trousers or taint, that never stops being funny, no matter how many times you say it.
The pre-match philosophies of Pep, as told to BT Sport: Don’t think much. Try to play. Try to win the game. Everybody is fit, everybody deserves to play.
Nuno takes his turn: The shape is the foundation. Then the dynamic is what is important. The boys are OK and ready to go.
Manchester City once again showcase the depth of their squad, making six changes to the team that squeaked past West Ham on Saturday. Raheem Sterling, Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Gabriel Jesus and Aymeric Laporte replace Sergio Aguero, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ilkay Gundogan, Fernandinho, Ferran Torres and John Stones, who are all named as subs.
Just the one change to the Wolves team that started the 1-1 draw at Newcastle. It’s a defensive one: Ki-Jana Hoever takes the place of Willian Jose, who drops to the bench.
The teams
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Joao Cancelo, De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Sterling.
Subs: Stones, Gundogan, Aguero, Zinchenko, Steffen, Torres, Fernandinho, Foden, Garcia.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Rui Patricio, Dendoncker, Coady, Saiss, Hoever, Neves, Joao Moutinho, Jonny, Nelson Semedo, Pedro Neto, Traore.
Subs: Ait Nouri, Willian Jose, Boly, Silva, Gibbs-White, Vitinha, Ruddy, Kilman, Otasowie.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire).
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Preamble
We’re all thinking about it ... but Pep Guardiola insists his Manchester City side are in Eyes Only On Next Match mode, that they’re not assuming the Premier League is already in the bag, and they’re certainly not worried about the world record for the most consecutive victories in all competitions. That’ll be because they need to win another 22 matches on the bounce to beat Olympique Lyonnais Feminin’s total of 41, so come off it. But the men’s total of 27, set by Welsh side TNS, is in reach. They’re 20 down, just eight more to go.
Whether they’ll be happy to see Wolves tonight is a moot point. City won easily enough in the corresponding fixture earlier in the season, 3-1, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s men did the double over them last season, 3-2 at Molineux, 2-0 at the Etihad. No other team has taken more points from City - seven - since Wolves came back to the big time in 2018. And while the City formbook is there for all to see, Wolves are in decent nick too, having taken seven points from their last three matches, and it would have been nine had Newcastle’s Martin Dubravka not made an absurd last-minute save at the weekend.
So City are strong favourites - when are they not? - but Wolves are surely capable of posing a similarly belligerent test to the one West Ham set on Saturday. Kick off is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
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