Five Things Learned: Wolves 1-2 Manchester City (Premier League)

Late heroics from John Stones and Manchester City saw the defending champions claim three points with a 1-2 win against Wolves at Molineux Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The win sees Manchester City stay just a single point behind first-placed Liverpool, as the defending Premier League champions remain the only unbeaten side in the league heading into gameweek nine of the campaign.

The Sky Blues have had a knack for falling behind early in matches this season and in near trademark fashion, Wolves grabbed the lead seven minutes into the match after an excellent counter-attack goal where Nelson Semedo set-up Jørgen Strand Larsen at the far post.

However, Manchester City found their way back into the match in the 32nd minute, when Josko Gvardiol curled in a world-class strike from outside of the box to draw the game and add to his ever-growing collection of stellar strikes.

City dominated for the remainder of the match, maintaining just under 80% possession in both halves. The Blues outshot Wolves 3-22, and had 18 corners to just one for the opposition. But it took until the closing moments for Phil Foden’s corner to find John Stones.

Stones’ winner was originally ruled out due to Bernardo Silva being flagged for interfering with Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa in an offside position. However, following a VAR review, the decision was overturned and the goal awarded to Manchester City for all the three points.

Here are the Five Things We Learned from Manchester City’s 1-2 comeback win over Wolves!

The Bernardo-Gundo-Kovacic midfield isn’t working

It’s difficult for Manchester City to build out their attack when Rodri is injured, it’s hard for them to be as creative when Kevin De Bruyne isn’t playing, and the line-up lacks dynamism when Phil Foden is on the bench.

It’s even more difficult when all three aren’t included in a Manchester City starting line-up.

The midfield trio of Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, and Mateo Kovacic is yet to click and it wasn’t made any better by Jeremy Doku and Savinho swapping wings after the first 45 minutes.

Much like match against Newcastle last month, Manchester City looked better when once Phil Foden (and Jack Grealish) were on the pitch.

Matheus Nunes had another (brief) moment

It’s been less than two months since Matheus Nunes’ assist to Erling Haaland against West Ham. But those eight weeks have felt like it’s from a different season. While it hasn’t exactly been a textbook second season under Guardiola for Nunes, he is starting to make some waves.

The Portuguese midfielder had a few bright spots against his former club. Highlighted by him stopping a late Wolves attack, sprinting the full length of the pitch, and winning a corner just moments later.

Despite limited minutes, the 26-year-old midfielder has had a few moments to hopefully impress Guardiola into getting some more playtime in cup matches and maybe a Champions League match or two. 

John Stones regaining his spot in the line-up

Sunday afternoon’s match was only John Stones’ fourth start this season. The 30-year-old centre-back has (frustratingly) been unable to stay consistently fit since the treble-winning season.

However, after a solid run at the European Championships with England in the summer, the former Everton defender has looked healthier than usual. With late heroics against both Arsenal and Wolves, Stones continues to prove his worth to the squad. 

Manchester City can actually score from set pieces

Conservatively speaking, City have yet to score a goal directly from a corner in their last 478 attempts. It’s been a struggle. City’s 16 goals from set pieces last season was surprisingly 4th most in the league, but until Sunday only four clubs had scored less set piece goals this season than City.

Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden are the only players who can consistently play threatening balls over the top of defences, and neither of them has featured much for Manchester City so far.

Josko Gvardiol is not of Planet Earth

The 22-year-old centre-back has found a home as an attacking full-back and has amassed a goal catalog in his short Manchester City career that could rival most elite wingers. 

On Sunday, he completed 109 passes from 131 touches, created three chances, and scored a goal. He was the first player to put up those numbers this decade – again, he is a centre-back.

Lord only knows what kind of player he will turn out to be when he starts to enter his prime.