Manchester City 0-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers: 5 talking points from the game

Manchester City welcomed Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad on Sunday with Pep Guardiola’s side eight points behind league leaders Liverpool. The Cityzens had the chance to cut that gap to five points with a win against Wolves and it was clear that there were no other alternatives to all three points for Guardiola at the moment.

Liverpool’s perfect run in the league meant that the reigning champions have been playing catch up right from the start of the season. Guardiola’s boys, despite losing one and drawing one in the league prior to the game, had continued their blistering form from last term. Manchester City had already scored 27 goals from their seven games in the league; 14 of those had been scored in three games at home.

Wolves, on the other hand, were heading into the game with their season hanging in the balance. Nuno Espírito Santo’s team had managed just one win in the league and had already let in 11 goals. However, Wolves still had the ability to hurt their opponents with their counter-attacking style of play, something that Guardiola was wary of. The Spaniard named his first 11 accordingly.

Manchester City starting XI: Emerson; Kyle Walker, Fernandinho, Nicolas Otamendi, Joao Cancelo; Ilkay Gundogan, Rodrigo Hernandez, David Silva; Riyad Mahrez, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling.

The Sky Blues started the game well but lacked precision in the final third, while Wolves threatened on the counter. The first half ended with the score 0-0. After the break, City continued to struggle in front of goal and was dealt with a telling blow when Wolves scored through Adama Traore in the 80th minute.

The Spaniard doubled the lead for the visitors in the fourth minute of injury time. The game ended 2-0 as Wolves picked up a memorable win. Here are the 5 talking points from the game.

#5 Guardiola gets his team selection wrong

Manchester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Premier League

Guardiola's team selection against Wolverhampton Wanderers perhaps had room for improvement. The Spaniard opted for Joao Cancelo in the left-back position, while both Oleksandr Zinchenko and Angelino were on the bench. The Portuguese failed to impress while Guardiola had to replace the injured Kyle Walker with Zinchenko in the second half.

The city midfield also lacked precision, as Rodrigo and Ilkay Gundogan lacked ambition and failed to win the midfield battle. Perhaps the use of two holding midfielders against a Wolves side who sat deep was not the best decision.

#4 City attack failed to flourish

Ahead of the game, Manchester City had scored 27 goals in the Premier League, including eight in a single game! Scoring goals has never been a problem for Guardiola’s team, but turned out to be an issue against Wolves. The Spaniard opted for Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez either side of Sergio Aguero, but surprisingly, City lacked intensity in the final third.

The home team was a little slow to react and the chances went begging. City attempted 18 shots in the game, however, only two of those were on target. This lack of precision ultimately came back to haunt the reigning champions.

Mahrez registered a single shot in the game, while both Sterling and Aguero recorded three each. The Englishman was the only forward player to have a shot on target. Sterling also completed four dribbles, while Aguero and Mahrez could only manage one apiece. Manchester City's front line had a rare off-day on the pitch, which will be a cause of concern for Guardiola.

#3 Aymeric Laporte’s absence hurting City

Pep Guardiola has been unlucky with injuries this season. John Stones and Benjamin Mendy are already sidelined with injuries, while Kyle Walker also picked up a knock against Wolves. However, the biggest problem for Guardiola has been the absence of Aymeric Laporte in the heart of the City defense.

The Frenchman is one of the best defenders in the world at the moment, but he picked up a knee injury at the beginning of this season and is not expected to return any time soon. In his absence, Guardiola has been forced to play Fernandinho as the auxiliary center back and this has caused a couple of problems for the team. First, the Brazilian is not a traditional center back, and even though he has been impressive in the position, he still is vulnerable at the back, as was evident against Wolves.

Second, City has missed Fernandinho’s presence in the holding midfield role. Rodrigo has been a good replacement, but he has not been able to reach the Brazilian’s level of performance. Against Wolves too, this vulnerability in the City team was clearly evident.

#2 Wolves counter-attack downs City

Nuno Espírito Santo had a very clear game plan heading into the game. The Portuguese manager was aware that his team simply did not have the personnel to match City man for man around the pitch, so he opted to play to his strengths. Santo set out his team to be compact at the back and then planned to hit City on the counter.

The plan showed positive signs in the first half itself, as Wolves caught City on the break on quite a few occasions. And the visitors were finally rewarded in the 80th minute when Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore combined brilliantly on the counter and the Spaniard scored to give his team the lead.

City piled the pressure on the visitors, searching for an equalizer and that left huge gaps at the back for Wolves to exploit. The Spaniard and Mexican's combination play bore fruit for the away side once again, as Jimenez sent Traore clear on goal once again to double the lead. Wolves highlighted a rare vulnerability in Guardiola's side and exploited it to the fullest.

#1 City fall further behind in the title race

Last season, Manchester City and Liverpool played out an entertaining title challenge that lasted until the final day of the season. Guardiola’s team emerged champions, while Liverpool finished a close second. This season though, the tide seems to have turned, as Liverpool started better, with City playing catch up.

When the Spaniard’s team took to the field on Sunday, Liverpool’s 100% record in the league was still intact. The Reds had won all of their eight games in the Premier League and were sitting at the top of the table with 24 points. Manchester City were eight points adrift at second and Guardiola desperately needed the win to keep the pressure on his title rivals. Unfortunately though, the Spaniard fell further behind in the title race after the home defeat to Wolves.

Even though there are 30 games more to be played in the league, Liverpool have stolen a march on their rivals and City might require some sort of miracle to close the gap from here on.

Edited by Emeka Monyei