Full Time: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Manchester City
Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City shared the spoils in Saturday’s early kick-off as the two sides drew 1-1 in an entertaining clash at the Molineux.
Wolves were excellent throughout the game and caused Pep Guardiola’s side a huge amount of problems, especially in the first half, catching City on the counter on a number of occasions.
In the 57th minute, Willy Boly put Wolves ahead but replays showed the defender flicked Joao Moutinho’s cross into the far corner with his hand. City found an equaliser 10 minutes later as Aymeric Laporte buried a powerful header into the back of the net from an Ilkay Gundogan free-kick.
City, however, endured a largely frustrating afternoon as Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling both hit the woodwork, with the former doing it for the second time deep into stoppage, after Wolves’ Raul Jimenez saw a goal disallowed for offside.
After the equaliser, City pressed hard in search of the winner but Wolves held onto their nerves to earn a famous point against the Premier League champions.
Wolves Player Ratings
Rui Patricio – 8/10
Patricio got down well to deny Ilkay Gundogan early on in the first half before making an outstanding flying save to deny Raheem Sterling. The Portuguese, however, was beaten by a bullet header from Laporte but he denied Gabriel Jesus from close range later on.
Ryan Bennett – 7/10
Bennett stood up to the task against the excellent City attackers. He was beaten for pace at times but overall, he did well.
Conor Coady – 8/10
Coady denied Sterling with a decisive tackle early on in the game. He was sharp and looked confident on the ball. A skipper’s performance.
Willy Boly – 9/10
Boly deserved a 10 on 10 had he not missed Laporte for the equaliser. Yet, he was a colossus at the back.
Boly bundled home to give Wolves the lead in the second half, but it was a handball which the linesman didn’t notice. His tackling was top-notch and made a couple of recovery runs to prevent Sergio Aguero from scoring. Arguably his best game in a Wolves shirt.
Matt Doherty – 7/10
Doherty put in a gutsy display and put more emphasis on defending.
Joao Moutinho – 7/10
Moutinho kept Wolves ticking with his presence in the middle of the park. Gave away the ball and some cheap fouls but it was needed to break the visitors’ play. A good show.
Ruben Neves – 8/10
Another fantastic display from Neves in Wolves’ engine room. His passing was crisp and looked very confident on the ball, with one through ball to find Jimenez being the highlight of his display.
Jonny Castro – 8/10
Castro was excellent, moving up and down the left flank as he gave a glimpse of his energy.
Helder Costa – 6/10
He had a fantastic chance to give Wolves the lead in the first half but couldn’t find a way past Ederson. His pace and skill-set troubled the City defenders but faded away after the break and was replaced by Adama Traore.
Diogo Jota – 8/10
Jota showed sparks of his attacking quality with some incisive passing. With time and opportunities, the Portuguese will get better.
Raul Jimenez – 8/10
Jimenez put in a great shift, leading the Wolves attack. He couldn’t time his run properly and was rightfully adjudged offside when he scored. The Mexican worked his socks off and deserves a lot of praise.
Substitutes
Adama Traore – 7/10
Replaced Costa and set into his job. His crazy pace and unpredictability caused City some problems in the second half. Needs to work on his end product.
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Ruben Vinagre – 5/10
Vinagre replaced Jonny and defended well in the closing stages of the game.