Pep Guardiola: “The game started really well for us with the two goals and the red card,” he says. “And after the Champions League to come here at 12:30 with the quality they have, they can keep the ball and transitions are fast, it was an incredible victory. We struggled a lot after half-time until Phil’s [Foden] goal so a lot of credit to Wolves.
On Jack Grealish: “Jack played really good. He was strong and he a made good goal coming in. Hopefully he can make a good international performance and come back fit. Fingers crossed all the players come back fit but it is important for them ahead of the World Cup. Hopefully they come back good, ready for the derby.”
Ruben Neves: “We had a plan for the game,” he tells BT Sport. “We worked all week on the plan then in the first minute we conceded. It’s hard to play against Manchester City and it’s even harder when you start the game losing 1-0. They’re the best team in the world with the ball. When they’re winning they control the game really well.
“The red card took us down a little bit. We did a great second half. We were controlling the game - even with 10 men - before their third goal. Our plan was to do that from the beginning.” As Mike Tyson famously said, everybody has a plan until they get a smack in the mouth and so it proved after 55 seconds this afternoon.
Match report: Wolves 0-3 Manchester City
Premier League: “A one-sided game was bookended by strikes by Jack Grealish and Phil Foden but it is Erling Haaland’s borderline silly numbers that continue to raise eyebrows and create a general sense of disbelief,” writes Ben Fisher from Molineux.
Jack Grealish: “It’s been a long time coming,” says Grealish in a post-match chat with BT Sport, as he struggles to remember the last goal he scored. “I think it was the West Ham game at the back end of last season. It was nice to get off the mark for this season and to do it so early and get the three points. This is a difficult place to come and a top, top team. I think they are so under-rated this Wolves team and they showed it at points during the second half. It’s a great result for us.
On the criticism he’s faced this week: “Rightly so,” he says of the questions that have been asked. “I should be scoring more, I should be getting more assists so the only thing I can do is try to score and get assists. I’m always going to have people talking about me because of the amount I got bought for but if you look at my whole career, I probably haven’t scored as much as certain people. It’s something that I do want to add to my game.”
A quick recap: Jack Grealish fired City ahead after 55 seconds, gewtting on the end of a Kevin De Bruyne cross to convert from seven or eight yards. Erling Haaland doubled City’s lead with his 14th goal of what has been a reamarkable season so far, before Nathan Collins got sent off for an atrocious challenge on Grealish as the two players contested a 50-50 ball.
If anything, Wolves played better with 10 men but were never really at the races despite creating a few chances. Phil Foden put the game well beyond them just before the minute’s worth of applause for the late Queen and they saw out the final 20 minutes with a minimum of fuss.
Full time: Wolves 0-3 Manchester City
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeep! It’s all over at Molineux, where Manchester City have comfortably seen off their hosts to leapfrog Arsenal and go two points clear at the top of the table. They’ll remain there for at least 24 hours.
90+3 min: Matheus Nunes tries to play Campbell into space down by the corner flag but overhits his pass. Joao Cancelo clears.
90+1 min: Into added time we go and one suspects Wolves players will be happy enough with this result given the fact they’ve played over half this match with 10 men and were already two down before losing Nathan Collins to a red card. They’ve played pretty well since he left the pitch, their numerical disadvantage apparently helping to focus the collective mind.
88 min: City continue to dominate without piling the hurt on Wolves unduly. They seem content to see out the game, despite the frantic gesticulating of their perfectionist manager on the touchline. It was quite telling that during the celebrations of City’s third goal, Guardiola took Ruben Dias to one side and gave him what looked like a very intense … well, Pep-talk.
86 min: Wolves substitution: Pedro Neto leaves the field to be replaced by the 19-year-old Welsh youth international Chem Campbell.
86 min: City’s players ping the ball around amongst themselves, not allowing Wolves a touch for a sustained period.
83 min: Ruben Neves stretches out a leg to intercept a through ball from Julian Alvarez from running into the path of Haaland, who was running towards goal. Excellent defending.
82 min: Pedro Neto tries to drive in a cross from the byline but his delivery is blocked and put out for a Wolves corner. Neto sends the ball to the far post, where a backpedalling Ederson punches it out of harm’s way.
80 min: Manchester City substitution: Sergio Gomez comes on for Rodri. Wolves substitution: Rayan Ait-Nouri makes way for Nelson Semedo.
79 min: Shortly after they’d both come on, Ilkay Gundogan played Riyad Mahrez in behind the Wolves defence but Jose Sa was lightning fast off his line to prevent the substitute from getting to the ball first.
78 min: City substitution: Cole Palmer, who sounds more like a jazz saxophonist than a footballer, replaces Jack Grealish, who is booed off by the Wolves fans after arguably his best performance of the season.
76 min: Going back to that third goal, Haaland held up the ball on the inside right, before playing Kevin De Bruyne in behind on the overlap. He picked out Foden with his low cross and the 22-year-old made no mistake, finishing into the corner.
73 min: Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva have also gone off, to be replaced by Riyad Mahrez and Julian Alvarez.
72 min: Wolves double-substitution from a couple of minutes ago: Boubacar Traore and Hwang Hee-chan replace Goncalo Guedes and Daniel Podence. Manchester City substitution: Ilkay Gundogan comes on for Phil Foden.
70 min: Play stops and the crowd stand to applaud Queen Elizabeth II and sing the national anthem. On the pitch, the players do likewise, although they stop short of bursting into song.
GOAL! Wolves 0-3 Manchester City (Foden 69)
City score again! A lovely, intricate move from City ends with Phil Foden converting a low cross from Kevin De Bruyne from close range after excellent work by Erling Haaland in the build-up.
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67 min: Grealish plays the ball forward to Haaland, who advances on goal and unleashes a shot that takes a deflection off the foot of Max Kilman, who was sprinting alongside him. Jose Sa gets down to make the save.
66 min: Matheus Nunes is booked for a rash challenge on Kevin De Bruyne in the middle of the pitch.
64 min: Ruben Dias slides in to block a low ball sent into the City penalty area from the right by Matheus. Wolves fans behind the goal appeal for a penalty for handball but there was no illegal contact, it was just an excellent bit of defending.
63 min: Neto tries to play Guedes in behind the City defence but the winger gets the ball caught under his feet and a half-chance goes a begging.
62 min: Manchester City corner, which Kevin De Bruyne takes. He tries to pick out Haaland at the near post, but Joao Moutinho is first to the ball and clears.
59 min: Ait-Nouri picks up the ball in space, high up the pitch on the inside left. He squares the ball for Goncalo Guedes, who snatches at his shot from 12 yards and fails to hit the target oreven send the ball wide. It was a glorious opportunity for Wolves to pull a goal back but Guedes made a pig’s ear of it.
57 min: Wolves corner after Akanji blocks an attempted Podence cross. Nothing comes of it as they play the ball low to the edge of the area, where Foden steals it.
56 min: After playing the advantage, referee Anthony Taylor brings play back for a De Bruyne foul on Neto. CIty clear the free-kick from their penalty area.
53 min: Matheus plays the ball wide to Neto on the right. He plays it inside to Neves, who gives it away. City break upfield with Grealish on the ball, riding challenges but despite his best attempts to stretch and connect with a De Bruyne dink over the top, Phil Foden is unable to emulate Erling Haaland’s acrobatic feats of midweek. A grateful Jose Sa gathers the ball.
51 min: Pedro Neto wins a corner off Jaoa Cancelo as Wolves get forward again. It’s no exaggeration to say they have been playing better with 10 men than they were with 11, when they looked hopelessly exposed every time City got on the ball. Nothing comes of the set piece.
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49 min: Excellent play from Wolves, who play the ball out from the back, beating the City press and working it upfield and across the pitch to Neto in space on the inside left. He cuts inside and tries a shot, which is blocked.
48 min: Foden plays the ball down the right wing towards the byline for De Bruyne to chase. Max Kilman beats him to it, but only just. De Bruyne tries to get a cross in as Kilman shepherds it out of play. Goal kick.
Second half: Wolves 0-2 Manchester City
46 min: Possibly reluctantly, given the horrors that could lie ahead, Wolves get the second half under way. Their manager Bruno Lage has not made any changes in personnel at half-time and Ruben Neves continues in his role as makeshift centre-half.
Half-time: Wolves 0-2 Manchester City
Peep! An eventful half draws to a close with Erling Haaland pushing the lens of the handheld camera trained on him out of his way as he makes his way to the dressing-room. He scored his 14th goal of the season with a nice individual effort, doubling City’s lead after Jack Grealish had prodded them ahead in the first minute. As if they weren’t in enough bother already, Nathan Collins added to Wolves’ misery by getting himself sent off for a daft, dangerous challenge on Jack Grealish.
45+3 min: Ait-Nouri is on hand to prevent Haaland getting a shot off after the Norwegian had controlled a Joao Cancelo cross on his chest, on the edge of the six-yard box.
45+2 min: Kevin De Bruyne volleys a shot from outside the Wolves penalty area wide of the left upright.
45+2 min: Relentless pressure from City, who are unable to fashion a chance on goal. Weirdly, Wolves seem far more focussed and disciplined in defence now than they were before being reduced to 10 men.
44 min: A City corner is cleared at the near post by Matheus.
43 min: The game has yet to settle back into a rhythm after the dismissal of Collins, with City yet to figure out how best to capitalise on their numerical advantage. Once they do, you really fear for Wolves.
42 min: Anthony Taylor summons Wolves skipper Ruben Neves and Jonny for a word of warning, after the right-back had said something out of turn to the referee.
41 min: Wolves have yet to make any chanfges in personnel and Ruben Neves is currently playing alongside Max Kilman in the heart of the Wolves defence.
40 min: An inch-perfect crossfield ball from Ruben Neves picks out Daniel Podence on the left wing. He takes on and beats Cancelo, before curling a shot over the bar.
38 min: A section of the Wolves crowd start a derogotary chant at Jack Grealish’s expense, as if to suggest the City player was in some way playacting in order to get Nathan Collins sent off. It’s an opinion, I guess.
35 min: Oof! That was a dreadful challenge from Collins. He and Grealish were contesting a 50-50 ball and the Wolves defender went in with his boot high, catching Grealish in the upper thigh/groin area. The City winger recevies treatment and then shows a couple of teammates a big red mark on his hip, stretching down as far as his upper thigh. For his part, Collins dawdled off the pitch looking bashful, verging on distraught.
Red card! Nathan Collins is off!
33 min: Wolves go down to 10 men as Nathan Collins is shown a straight red card for a ridiculously rash and high challenge on Jack Grealish as the pair contested a bouncing ball. Referee Anthony Taylor didn’t hesitate for a second.
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31 min: Max Kilman does well to recover under intense pressure from Phil Foden after misjudging the flight of a ball floated his way through the centre. It looked like Foden was going to have a clear run on the Wolves goal but Kilman kept his composure and did enough to avert the danger.
30 min: His team may be two goals up and bossing this game but Pep Guardiola is still very animated in his technical area, giving it the full Basil Fawlty as he gesticulates furiously at his players.
28 min: Bernardo Silva tees up Jack Greralish on the edge of the Wolves penalty area. Slightly off balance, the scorer of City’s first goal fires this particular effort high over the bar.
27 min: With Jonny committed further upfield, Jack Grealish gallops down the left wing with the ball at his feet. Ruben Neves does well to keep up with him and put the ball out for a throw-in before Grealish can get the cross in.
25 min: Akanji fouls Goncalo Guedes and Wolves have a free-kick about 30 yards from the City goal, a few yards left of centre. Ruben Neves stands over it before whipping the ball above defensive wall and cross-bar. Wolves have had two free-kicks in excellent positions but have not tested Ederson in the City goal on either occasion.
23 min: Chances at both ends. First, Rodri shoots low, hard and straight at Jose Sa. Moments later, Wolves get forward and Pedro Neto drags a shot wide of the far upright.
22 min: Pedro Neto goes down in the City penalty area, appealing for a penalty after a coming together with Manuel Akanji as the defender attempted to shepherd him wide. There’s no spot-kick but City do get a free-kick as Neto handled the ball after falling.
20 min: City advance down the left with Grealish on the ball. He links up with Haaland, who sends the ball into the penalty area. Not even Erling is quick enough to get on the end of his own cross, so Jose Sa claims possession.
18 min: Both goals have come about as a result of Wolves losing the ball cheaply in midfield. On this occasion, Bernardo won it and released Haaland into a vast expanse of space in front of the Wolves defence. He galloped directly towards goal, a panicking Kilman refused to engage and … well, the rest is history.
GOAL! Wolves 0-2 Manchester City (Haaland 16)
Stop it. Erling Haaland runs at Max Kilman, who keeps backing off him, turning himself inside-out in the process. Haaland keeps advancing before spanking the ball past Jose Sa for his 14th goal of the season.
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14 min: Moutinho sends his free-kick straight into the City defensive wall. Corner for Wolves. Nothing comes of it.
13 min: Matheus Nunes is fouled by Rodri on the edge of the City penalty area. The City defender gets booked and Wolves have a free-kick in a very promising position, a little right of centre.
11 min: Now Wolves attack down the left, with Ait-Nouri on the ball. He cuts inside, picks out Joao Moutinho. His ball to the feet of Pedro Neto in a good position is miscontrolled by its target.
11 min: Wolves attack down the right wing with Jonny on the ball. He’s disposssessed by Joao Cancelo.
9 min: Moments after that opener, Wolves created a chance of sorts from the kick-off. Neto played Podence into the City penalty area and he teed up Goncalo Guedes. His shot didn’t trouble Ederson unduly.
5 min: De Bruyne and Foden combine down the inside right channel, with Foden’s cross being put out for a corner. The ball’s sent in, John Stones gets his head to it and Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa leaps to claim. He’s challenged in the air by Rodri and releases his grip on the ball and it’s turned home. Goal disallowed – Sa had both hands on the ball.
3 min: Not the start Wolves would have wanted, to say the least. They go a goal down to a textbook City strike on 55 seconds. Foden and De Bruyne combined well down the right flank, getting the better of Rayan Ait-Nouri before the Belgian whipped the ball across the face of goal. It evaded Haaland at the near post, but Grealish was on hand to fire home from the middle.
GOAL! Wolves 0-1 Manchester City (Grealish 1)
City lead! They score with their first attack of the game, with Kevin De Bruyne sending the ball flashing across the face of goal from the right. Jack Grealish is on hand to poke home his first goal of the season.
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Wolves v Manchester City is go ...
1 min: The pomp and ceremony over, City get the ball rolling on a sunny afternoon at Molineux courtesy of Erling Haaland.
Not long now: Respective club legends Steve Bull and Mike Summerbee lay wreaths in the centre-circle, around which the match officials and players of both teams are lined. There’s a well observed minute’s silence, followed by the national anthem, sung by Samantha Oxborough.
This weekend in the Premier League: As well as flying flags at half-mast in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, a minute’s silence will be observed and the National Anthem played before each game. Players will wear black armbands and be led out by their managers, while crowds will be asked to give a round of applause in the 70th minute. Big screens at grounds will display images of the Queen.
Those teams: There’s no place for a presumably unfit Diego Costa in the Wolves matchday squad, with Bruno Lage picking a front three of Daniel Podence, Goncalo Guedes and Pedro Neto. The only change to the line-up that took to the field against Southampton is the inclusion of Guedes for the injured Kalajdic.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola makes three changes to the side that beat Borussia Dortmund in midweek. Nathan Ake makes way for Ruben Dias in the heart of defence, while Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden come in for Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez.
Wolves v Manchester City line-ups
Wolves: Jose Sa, Jonny, Collins, Kilman, Ait Nouri, Matheus Luiz, Neves, Joao Moutinho, Pedro Neto, Goncalo Guedes, Daniel Podence.
Subs: Boubacar Traore, Hwang, Sarkic, Mosquera, Nelson Semedo, Gomes, Ronan, Bueno, Campbell.
Manchester City: Ederson, Akanji, Stones, Dias, Joao Cancelo, De Bruyne, Rodri, Grealish, Bernardo Silva, Haaland, Foden.
Subs: Walker, Ake, Gundogan, Ortega, Alvarez, Gomez, Mahrez, Carson, Palmer.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
Today's match officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
Assistants: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn.
Fourth official: Tony Harrington.
VAR: Darren England.
Early team news
Wolves striker Sasa Kalajdzic is set for a long spell on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on the ACL he injured in his side’s game against Southampton, his first appearance for the club. Winger Chiquinho is already out with a similar – but worse – injury he suffered in a pre-season match against Burnley. We wish both players well on their long road back to full fitness. Striker Raul Jimenez is sidelined with a groin injury that is expected to keep him out for several weeks.
Manchester City are still without Aymeric Laporte, who is recovering from a knee injury but not expected to return until after the international break, while his fellow defender Kyle Walker could feature after sitting out the Dortmund game with an injury. Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez could miss out today having displeased their manager with particularly poor individual performances in midweek.
Premier League: Wolves v Manchester City
Molineux is the venue for today’s top flight set-to between Wolves and Manchester City and a win for the champions would see them leapfrog Arsenal to go top of the table for 24 hours at least. CIty came from behind to beat Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League earlier this week, while Wolves have not played since their home win against Southampton a fortnight ago.
In need of a regular goalscorer, Bruno Lage’s team have since signed Diego Costa, who says his return to the Premier League “has lit a fire within”. The Brazilian born Spain international has been without a club since terminating his contract with Atletico Mineiro in January but is expected to return to competitive action today, fitness permitting. Kick-off at Molineux is at 12.30pm but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
