Manchester City beat Wolves 3-0 in the Premier League to pick up another three points in the chase to hunt down Arsenal
Pep speaks to his players (Image: 2023 Getty Images)
Manchester City won.
A 3-0 victory over Wolves was enough to close up to two points behind Arsenal at the top of the table before their match with Manchester United. That was possibly the most concrete takeaway on an afternoon where any attempts to see a grand reaction to Pep Guardiola’s furious challenges were always likely to be defeated.
Football is a simple game that City, at their best, do better than almost anybody. And for all your false nines and defensive pivots, there are few things more simple than Kevin De Bruyne crossing a football for Erling Haaland to head home.
That moment, towards the end of the first half, broke the end of a sticky period of play where they had enjoyed dominant possession (over 90 per cent for the first 20 minutes) yet struggled to click in attack. Within 10 minutes of the second half, Haaland and City had three and City fans gleefully sang of the score in ‘the library’.
By then, all thoughts of stodginess had been forgotten. There had been signs before of the issues that have plagued the Blues in recent weeks – De Bruyne’s distribution wasn’t great, while Rodri looked to be playing himself towards a red card – but three goals saved City from any more serious inquests.
This felt like a better performance from City than Thursday. They had the accuracy to find Haaland, and after scoring really stepped up their confidence levels.
Jack Grealish, excellent throughout, was unlucky not to get a penalty and it was an intelligent run from Ilkay Gundogan that actually earned a spot-kick for Haaland to convert.
When Jose Sa had a meltdown in the same area where Ederson had erred in the week, Riyad Mahrez selflessly squared for the Norwegian to score his fourth hat-trick of an astonishing campaign. Twenty-five league goals is more than the last three Golden Boot winners have finished on, and to be on 31 in all competitions for the season is absolutely staggering.
Perhaps the most satisfying parts of the afternoon came after the hour mark with the score at 3-0 and City’s matchwinner enjoying an early (ice) bath. City already had the game done, but kept it that way anyway.
The forwards kept pouring forward, and Mahrez was only marginally offside when he chipped in from another nice De Bruyne pass forward. Julian Alvarez came off the bench and offered his usual brightness.
Defensively, there was evidence of what Guardiola had called for not just in his post-match interviews on Thursday but in his programme notes for this game: fire and desire, on top of guts and passion. Ederson was alert to make a few good stops, while substitute Nathan Ake threw everything at a Pablo Sarabia effort in the six-yard box to deflect it behind for a corner.
Five substitutions were used and all made their mark in the game, with even Cole Palmer enjoying himself on the right wing for the final 10 minutes in what should be a nice boost for him.
It was a committed display that didn’t look like the ‘happy flowers’ Guardiola had ranted about on Thursday. Of the two performances, this one was definitely better.
Then again, were Wolves easier opposition than Tottenham? Quite possibly – they certainly offered very little until they went behind and even in the second half struggled to really threaten.
City have enjoyed some very good performances and wins in the time since the World Cup when the manager seems to have become more agitated about their form. The 3-0 win over Leeds was similar to this, while they have also beaten Liverpool and walloped Chelsea.
HOW MANY HAT-TRICKS DOES ERLING HAALAND HAVE? MANCHESTER CITY STAR’S NUMBERS REVEALED AS SHEARER REACTS
How many hat-tricks does Erling Haaland have?
Even some Manchester City supporters might be beginning to lose count.
The Norway international stole the show – and match ball – this afternoon as Pep Guardiola’s side lead Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
Haaland scored his first of the day on 40 minutes and within nine second-half minutes, had secured his hat-trick.
But…
HOW MANY HAT-TRICKS DOES ERLING HAALAND HAVE
This was the former Borussia Dortmund hitman’s fourth hat-trick since joining Manchester City in the summer of 2022.
He scored his first treble in a 4-2 victory over Crystal Palace back in August, before doing the same in the visit of Nottingham Forest only four days later.
And then in a 6-3 demolition of Manchester United in October, Haaland scored three goals once again.
Source: manchestereveningnews.co.uk; hitc.com
