Manchester City 0-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers: 3 Reasons why the Cityzens lost | Premier League 2019/20

It was shocking scenes at the Etihad! The defending champions, Manchester City, lost ground on early leaders Liverpool as Wolverhampton Wanderers struck twice late in the game to stun Pep Guardiola's men.

Both sides had a couple of gilt-edged chances in the first half, with the likes of Raul Jimenez and Raheem Sterling denied on either end. In the second half, Guardiola's men dominated possession as is their usual fashion, however, they struggled to carve out clear opportunities.

In the 80th minute, Raul Jimenez broke forward from deep in a counter, dribbled past Nicolas Otamendi, and passed to Adama Traore who placed the ball past Edison Moraes and into the bottom right corner of the City goal.

In stoppage time, we got a deja vu moment as Jimenez once again broke free to play Traore through, and the 23-year-old Spaniard once more placed the ball in the bottom right corner to seal Man City's fate.

With this result, City remains eight points behind Liverpool, and Nuno Espirito Santo's men climb to 11th. In this article, we analyse some reasons why the defending champions fell at home.

---

#3 Dominant but ineffective Manchester City attack

Manchester City's Raheem Sterling

It was another dominant display by City in terms of ball possession and a large number of chances created, however, they failed to directly trouble the Wolverhampton Wanderers goal mouth.

In the first half, City found it difficult to unlock the Wolves defence, and their best chance fell to Raheem Sterling, as the English international released a shot from 20-yards which was stopped by Wolves' Rui Patricio.

In the second half, it was more of the same story, with City dominating possession but failing to create clear cut chances. Their best chances in the second period fell to David Silva and Bernardo Silva, as David's freekick hit the crossbar and Bernardo's shot was blocked by Conor Coady.

The Cityzens dominated possession for 77 per cent of the game and had 18 shots. However, those numbers meant nothing as Pep Guardiola's men only had 2 shots on target. It was uncharacteristically a bad day at the office in attack for City.

#2 A resolute defensive performance from Wolves

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Rui Patricio (L) and Conor Coady (R)

When travelling to the home of the champions, teams have to put your best defensive foot forward, otherwise, they get mercilessly punished. For this encounter, Nuno Espirito's men came battle-ready, as they put their early-season woes behind them to thwart the rampaging Manchester City attack endlessly.

The champions dominated proceedings, as they launched wave after wave of attack, passing and probing. However, at every turn, they met the Wolves rearguard, who patiently frustrated Guardiola's men time and again. Wolves' total of 20 successful tackles and a staggering 42 clearances was a testament to how effective they were at the back.

---

#1 Wolves' blistering counter-attacks

Adama Traore shoots past Ederson Moraes

Last season, Nuno Espirito Santo's team had a series of wonderful performances against top six clubs, as they dished out upset after upset. However, playing against lesser teams proved tricky for them, as they usually had more time on the ball.

Playing on the back foot is Wolves' forte, and in this game, they shrugged off a shaky start to the season to produce a textbook Wolves performance at the home of the champions. Time and again Nuno Espirito's men absorbed monumental City pressure and broke free on counters.

Wolves' two goals in the game were scored off such forays forward, as Raul Jimenez broke free on both occasions to release Adama Traore for his brace.