Man City sends Liverpool FC a title warning despite terrible preseason – Stuart Brennan

Manchester City entered the season opener at Wolves to the tune of their fans’ nerves.

But they played, at least in the first half, with a menacing composure that ended up warning Liverpool that this time around they won’t have it all their way.

Old habits are hard to die, but the air of sadness among many City fans heading into this difficult season opener was staggering.

The most pessimistic branch of support for the Blues, and they still have a lot of numbers, she was sure her team would be six impregnable points from Liverpool with just one game played.

And with a makeshift defense, seven players lost to illness or injury, a substitute bench packed with kids, and a last-minute change of plan after Ilkay Gundogan’s Covid-19 test positive, it was hard to disagree with them. .

But with Kevin De Bruyne leading them from the penalty spot, Phil Foden pocketing second and Gabriel Jesus scoring a late third, City came forward, despite some of their old defensive woes coming back to haunt them as the Wolves fought back.

The home team had one more week of training at City, as well as a good victory at Sheffield United already hidden in their belts.

But fans’ anxiety and frustration melted into the warm Black Country night as the Blues put on a performance that sweetly rocked from controlled and composed to piercing and devastating.

Against a team that has struggled to play since their return to the Premier League, the Blues were up two at the break and should have been more.

The problems dissipated when Kevin De Bruyne, wandering the edges of the Wolves’ defense, threatened to reduce it to shreds.

With Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden ripping pieces of the back four, and Gabriel Jesus being their usual selfless liaison man, while Fernandinho and Rodri held on tight in midfield, the attack was tremendous.

But City fans knew the fearsome six forwards would cause trouble – it was the four behind them that were causing the nerves before the game.

The injuries of Sergio Agüero, Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo, Aleks Zinchenko and Eric García, and the positive Covid-19 tests of Aymeric Laporte and Ilkay Gundogan forced Pep Guardiola in the selection of his team.

Nathan Ake was thrown into the background for his debut, and John Stones brought in from the cold.

In that first half, those two formed a composed and efficient partnership, so Ederson didn’t have to salvage anything.

Everyone knows that City need to improve their defense if they want to keep up with Liverpool this time, and fans are convinced that depends entirely on the landing of Kalidou Koulibaly, or one of the other center-backs the Blues have been to. searching.

Stones, who has been designated as a possible casualty, started because Gundogan’s Covid issues meant Fernandinho was needed in midfield, while Eric Garcia has a head injury.

He made his chances of turning his City career around without any damage in the first half, with a competent and serene display at the rear, although he was too lazy in the second half when Daniel Podence eluded him twice but ruined your opportunities.

And the facet of his game that REALLY made Guardiola notice him in the first place was in the limelight for City’s first goal.

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The backlog of patients was suddenly accelerated with the rapid pass from Stones to Foden, giving the sharp 20-year-old time and space to turn.

His pass down the side of the Wolves defense was pursued by De Bruyne, who invited a wild and terrified challenge from Romain Saiss and then got up to shoot home the perfect penalty in the 20th minute.

Last season, Raheem Sterling saw both his penalty and restart saved at Molineux, before appearing relieved on the rebound in this encounter last season.

Those failures, and others by Sergio Agüero and Ilkay Gundogan, have led De Bruyne to get the job.

He has been exceptional at that, and this kick from the point of view was impossible to save.

The Belgian tried again, as fast passes between Foden and Fernandinho allowed Gabriel Jesus to give him a meter of room to slip a pass to Sterling. He had a chance to get off the mark himself, but he selflessly withdrew it for the better placed Foden to slide home and make it 2-0.

City could have been home and tainted at halftime when Jesús’ clever header released De Bruyne, only for Rui Patricio to make a good save.

Rodri’s short shot later, a curly effort with the outside of his right foot, passed inches from the far post; otherwise, the Spaniard would have an early contender for the Goal of the Season.

The Wolves rallied after the break, but Podence’s error, followed by an even worse shooting effort, and Kyle Walker’s clearance from Ruben Neves’ throw line kept his mattress intact.

Raúl Jiménez also missed a golden opportunity after Ben Mendy was offered by Adama Traore, as the Wolves suffered from City’s usual imposition of wasting great moments.

But the striker was not wrong with 13 minutes remaining, as City’s pace dropped noticeably.

Podence got a nutmeg at the tired De Bruyne and delivered a good cross that the Portuguese forward headed in.

City were clearly feeling the effects of their unsatisfactory preseason, but they sealed it deeply in overtime when Jesus pounced on a fumble in the area and passed Patricio, with the help of a deflector.