Wolves have defied the odds to end Manchester City’s perfect start to the season at the Molineux Stadium.
Manchester City went into the game with their serene start to the season save the midweek defeat to Newcastle United in Carabao Cup first round.
The Cityzens stumbled to a narrow 1-0 defeat to the Magpies at St James’ Park thanks to Aleksander Isak’s strike that bundled the Premier League champions out of the competition.
Against Wolves at Molineux Stadium, Pep Guardiola must have hoped to roll back the EFL Cup nightmare and maintain their perfect Premier League start.
A win against Wolves would have made City the third club after Chelsea and Liverpool to nick seven straight wins from the start of the season but hungry Gary O’Neil boys humbled the Manchester winning machine at Molineux.
As expected, it was a dreary first 10 minutes for Wolves as they failed to gain a foothold while Manchester City held sway.
Wolves’ first chance came in the 11th minute when Ait-Nuri crossed the ball into City’s box after being fed by Cunha but Ruben Dias cleared it with a good header.
After the first attempt, the home side began to make a bold presence in the game, winning possession, and breaking on quick offensives.
This time, Neto led the charge for Wolves with the club’s second attempt but Matheus Nunes cleared it with ease.
Wolves became more dangerous going forward, frustrating the star-studded visitors and making dangerous attacking moves into City’s final third.
The short collapse of City’s dominance finally proved deadly as Wolves finally made it count in the 13th minute.
Neto led the charge for the goal, breaking in via the wings after dribbling pass Ake. He then fired a low cross into the box. Ruben Dias wanted to clear the cross with a slide but ended up parrying it into his own net.
The goal roused up City from their slumber as they attempted to mount an immediate response but Wolves sat deep to defend.
It was a deadlock for City as they tried to break the blockade and find an equaliser all to no avail.
With 45 minutes away for Gary O’Neil to grab all three points, Wolves’ game plan wasn’t a surprise in the second half.
They sat back in their half to counter City’s advances while hopping on quick counters when winning possession.
After a marathon of pressure, Manchester City finally got the better of the hosts and nailed home an equaliser before the hour mark thanks to Gomes rough challenge on Bobb that saw Manchester City won a freekick.
Julian Alvarez fired the set-piece into the top corner to hand City the equaliser.
The game was now on the balance but Wolves had to fought more not to concede another goal as Manchester City continued mounting pressure.
Against the run of play, City were stung hard by the hosts in the 66th minute.
Hwang lit the Molineux Stadium for the home fans as he slammed in Cunha’s pass into City’s empty net to restore the lead for Wolves.
Manchester City heaped pressure to find an equaliser but the hosts pulled a strong defensive display to maintain the lead. Both sides made late changes to twist the game but Wolves had the better of the star-studded side.
They hanged on to the narrow 2-1 lead till the final whistle, ending Manchester City’s unbeaten start to the campaign.
