A game that we all knew was never going to be easy, we didn’t do ourselves any favours though as we went a goal down while the clock hadn’t even ticked over for one minute. A game that was uphill from the very beginning, went from bad to worse when Erling Haaland scored and later on when Nathan Collins got sent off leaving the team in ten with a whole second half to play. Despite this, Wolves didn’t hold back and continued to play out from the back and arguably played better with ten men on the field.
Jose Sa
Not so much he could have done for the three goals conceded today, although there is some room for debate on the second goal as Erling Haaland’s shot slowly rolled into the back of the net. No saves of note to report for him, one sloppy pass in the second half that was almost intercepted and could have easily led to a goal, he did do well to control a slow and short back pass from Jonny but that is it from him.
5/10
Rayan Ait-Nouri
Hot and cold performance could have released the ball or crossed on certain occasions instead of dribbling, although he did have some good touches and dribbles that led to him being fouled and drawing freekicks in interesting areas. Clearly wasn’t expecting Foden’s backheel pass which saw him left dead by De Bruyne as he crossed the ball in the path of Grealish.
5.5/10
Jonny Otto
Hard to figure out how he is starting in front of the likes of Nelson Semedo. Jonny lost Grealish for the first goal, made a very short back pass that could have led to another goal in the second half and seems to be limited going forward while also being vulnerable when defending.
4.5/10
Max Kilman
A difficult game for Kilman and the rest of the Wolves backline. One on One against Haaland saw the Norwegian dispose of the ball in the net for City’s second of the game. Did okay in the second half paired with Neves as they managed to keep the score line down and play out from the back.
5.5/10
Nathan Collins
33 minutes, two goals conceded, a kung fu tackle on Grealish and a red card for Collins. Definitely not a game to remember for the young Irish defender but one he can reflect on and learn from. Wolves now hold the dilemma of choosing the right player to substitute him for the upcoming fixtures.
2/10
Matheus Nunes
His misplaced pass led to Wolves losing possession and City pushing forward and grabbing their first goal of the game. Obviously, the blame can’t be placed on him for the goal as there were other mistakes in the build-up, it is just something worth noting. Drove Wolves forward well without any problems and did well with the ball at his feet without any hesitation.
6/10
Ruben Neves
Quiet in midfield and struggled like his midfield partners. Once Wolves went down to ten men in the 33rd minute he dropped deeper and took up Collins role which he did pretty well-considering everything. Managed to dictate our play and made some good long passes although he was caught out for Phil Foden’s goal and could have avoided the booking.
6/10
Joao Moutinho
Understandably struggled to contain City’s midfield, the intensity was just too high to handle, his work rate and the yards covered were high as usual. Could have done better with some of the freekicks and set pieces but not much else could be faulted as he constantly tried to push the team forward.
5.5/10
Pedro Neto
A quiet first half, an improved second half but quite clearly, he is still yet to reach the form from before his injury. He often persisted to cut inside the field which in my opinion made himself predictable and on one occasion could have released the ball to one of his teammates in front of the goal instead of keeping it and losing possession.
5.5/10
Daniel Podence
Had some good touches and managed to create some stuff out of nothing as he wasn’t served enough balls and often when served they were high balls against some of the best and most physical defenders in the Premier League, where he had virtually no chance at all. He was taken off along with Guedes at 68 minutes presumably to be rested as the game was already over anyway.
6/10
Goncalo Guedes
A quiet game for him, he fluffed Wolves best chance of the game and was taken off after 68 minutes. He is still yet to settle and find the ground running, which we hope he will be able to do so soon. All you can say is you could have hoped either he or Neto could’ve got a consolation goal to boast their morale and spirits.
5/10
SUBS:
Boubacar Traore
A 20-minute cameo debut for Boubacar Traore, with some good touches and passes from him.
6/10
Hwang Hee-Chan
Nothing of note was done or produced by the Korean international.
N.A.
Nelson Semedo
Had some good touches and his first action of the game was a good one-two with Pedro Neto.
Surely and hopefully he should be ready to make the starting XI after this international break.
6/10
Chem Campbell
Slowly getting more appearances from the bench and being trusted by Lage, his time will come, in the meantime, he battled it out with the city defence for what was around five minutes.
N.A.