[ad_1]
It’s silly to read too much in the first game of a new season for any team, but this was something of a litmus test for Manchester City and one they just passed.
Kevin De Bruyne’s penalty, a superb team goal finished off by Phil Foden and a late spiker by Gabriel Jesus would ultimately prove enough to beat the stubborn Wolves, even if Nuno Espirito Santo’s team had made the final stages interesting by score a goal through Raúl Jiménez. .
The Wolves were responsible for two of City’s eight losses last season and were the kind of team Pep Guardiola’s players fought against: in the upper half of the table, organized defensively and lethal on the fast break. Molineux, meanwhile, is perhaps the terrain on which last season’s failed Premier League title defense finally fell apart.
That Christmas loss in last season’s matching game, arguably the season’s best top flight game, saw City give up a 2-0 lead in the second half and with it the slightest hope of catching the fugitive leader Liverpool. However, nine months later, with Molineux empty instead of swaying, there would be no collapse.
The wolves grew strong after the interval again, but the damage had been largely done from the start. City impressively shook off its preseason lack, and three positive tests for Covid-19 for first-team players last week, to pick up where they left off as Project Restart’s form team.
It quickly became clear that the Wolves would have to be disciplined to get a result, with City getting in their half and dominating possession from the first whistle, but their stamina lasted only 19 minutes. Romain Saiss has been known to be reckless at the tackle from time to time and slipped mindlessly to hit De Bruyne on the right edge of the penalty area.
The current PFA Player of the Year stepped in to shoot his fifth consecutive penalty with low and strong success to the left of Rui Patricio. It’s hard to say which is more surprising: that City’s record from point of view was so poor last season, with just 10 of 16 penalties scored in all competitions, or that it took so long to make De Bruyne their undisputed first choice. .
City’s second was sublime, the kind of goal that only they and a handful of others are capable of scoring at this level. All four members of Guardiola’s attacking quartet engaged in a short, brusque exchange of one-touch passes at the edge of the area until Sterling slipped from behind and faced Foden to finish.
Usually so compact and reliable, the Wolf’s defense had been shattered. By contrast, the new midtown partnership of newcomer Nathan Ake and John Stones had hardly broken a sweat.
That would change early in the second half once Nuno had spotted a possible weak link in City’s rear. Around the appointed time, a flurry of opportunities from the Lobos came down the left of City, each of them low, hard crosses trimmed to the edge of the area. Traore and young Pedro Neto took turns tormenting Benjamin Mendy, but De Bruyne was the one red-faced when the Wolves goal finally came.
After seeing his corner cleared, Daniel Podence recovered the fumble and then bypassed De Bruyne with a nutmeg. Olympiakos’ January signing doubled a cross to the near post for Jiménez, a relatively quiet presence, until then, who sent an authoritative header past Ederson.
A final push from the Wolves for the draw felt inevitable, but never really happened. Instead, it was Jesus who made sure the three points got back to Manchester with the last kick of the night. After using his strength to win a fumble down the left, substitute Sergio Agüero sneaked in with a shot that deflected Conor Coady and passed Patricio.
Last year, City succumbed. This time, they had survived. Guardiola will hope that this is a sign of things to come.
