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Key events
50 min Rodri’s low cross is slightly behind Foden, who does well to screw a shot towards goal from 15 yards. Jose Sa gets down to his right to push it away.
49 min No great urgency from City at the second half, though that’s never been how they score their goals. Desperation is for blue-collar teams.
46 min City begin the second half goalhunt. Wolves have brought on Jeanricner Bellegarde for Mario Lemina.
“Just to back up your memory, I’m sure that Palace v Liverpool game was also affected by goal difference, in that there was a valid reason for Liverpool to go all out for a five or six goal win rather than playing sensibly,” says David Hopkins. “All forgotten amidst the ‘narrative’ of course.”
Yes that’s right, though I think they needed to win by seven or eight (away to a decent, defensively excellent Palace side) for it to be significant.
Ah, here we go: this was the league table going into that Palace/Liverpool game.
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City P36 Pts 80 GD+59
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Liverpool P36 Pts 80 GD+50
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Chelsea P36 Pts 79 GD+43
Half-time reading
“From the perspective of a supporter of the chasing team, what’s most annoying about the last couple of matches is that City have played on autopilot,” writes Kári Tulinius. “They might as well be sleepwalking towards the title, and Wolves are yet another team that hasn’t woken City up.”
Tottenham’s the game. Emerson Royal is going to win the title for Arsenal.
Half time: Man City 3-0 Wolves
Erling Haaland’s hat-trick has ensured a stress-free second half for Manchester City. He opened the scoring from a debatable penalty, headed a majestic second and added another penalty – this one clear as day – on the stroke of half-time.
Now, about that goal difference.
45+7 min Gvardiol almost makes it 4-0. De Bruyne’s corner led to a scramble in the six-yard box but Gvardiol, off balance, couldn’t force the ball past Jose Sa from close range.
GOAL! Man City 3-0 Wolves (Haaland 45+2 pen; Haaland hat-trick)
Erling Haaland completes a first half hat-trick! He went the same side as the first penalty, to his left; Sa got a touch but the power of the kick beat him.
Haaland has scored back-to-back hat-tricks at home to Wolves.
Penalty to City!
45+1 min No argument with that one – Semedo clearly fouled Haaland as he was about to shoot. He was trying to get the ball, which means he is booked rather than sent off.
44 min: VAR check for a City penalty Haaland bulldozes clear, on a hat-trick, and goes down ater a clumsy tackle from behind by Semedo. I think this will be given by VAR. Semedo knocked Haaland’s standing foot, which meant Haaland fresh-aired his intended shot.
42 min “While Foden deservedly gets praise for his play this season, it strikes me that the player that has grown most in this squad is Gvardiol,” writes Joe Pearson. “He’s been immense lately. City always get the best toys … er, boys.”
41 min Lemina is booked for crumping Foden.
40 min “As someone who’s still scarred by events one Monday evening ten years ago,” writes Matt Dony, “I certainly hope City do recklessly pour forward looking to increase their goal difference. I mean, a wild Wolves comeback is enormously unlikely, and ‘reckless’ is hardly a word you could apply to Pep (apart from semi-final team sheet tinkering), but my word it would be entertaining.”
Isn’t the significance of that Crystal Palace game overplayed? I know a Liverpool win would have put some pressure on City, but they were always likely to win their last two games. iverpool v Chelsea (and then Everton v City) were the games that decided the title. Or have I misremembered the whole thing?
37 min That goal summed up the peerlessness of Rodri. His reading of play and athleticism allowed him to win the ball high up the field, and he also had the quality to flip the ball onto Haaland’s head. I can’t think of many better No6s, ever.
What a fine goal from Manchester City. Rodri nicked the ball in midfield yet again and found De Bruyne. He gave it back to Rodri, who floated a cross beyond the far post. Haaland towered frighteningly over Semedo and planted a precise header back across Jose Sa.
GOAL! Man City 2-0 Wolves (Haaland 35)
And it’s goodnight from Wolves.
33 min Kovacic is fouled 25 yards from goal on the left. De Bruyne’s cross is spilled by Sa, but Akanji is penalised for jumping into him.
31 min There’s plenty to admire about Wolves, not least their refusal to compromise even when they were in danger of being overwhelmed. The last 10 minutes have been pretty even.
29 min City remain comfortable, though Wolves are having much more of the ball than they did in the first 20 minutes.
27 min Foden receives the ball 40 yards from goal, turns and starts to slalom through the Wolves defence. For a split second it looks like he’s away, but a combination of Toti and Semedo clear the danger. Lovely run though.
26 min Cunha’s cross from the left hits Ake and rebounds towards Bueno near the byline. He stands up a cross that is well claimed by the stretching Ederson.
24 min Wolves are still trying to play through City, despite being caught a few times, and this is their best spell of possession in the match. Joao Gomes threads a nice ball behind Ake towards Hwang in the area; Ake stretches to poke it back to Ederson.
21 min Rodri is fouled just outsied the area on the right by Cunha. Foden whips the free-kick a few yards wide of the far post; not sure whether that was a cross or a shot.
19 min Wolves have barely crossed the halfway line since the goal. City are passing them to death, and Kovacic almost releases Bernardo Silva with a sharp through pass. He went a fraction too early and was flagged offside.
17 min: Good save by Sa! Bernardo Silva, on the right side of the area, flips a cross towards Haaland at the far post. He strains the old neck muscles to power a header back across goal, and Sa dives to his left to make a really good reaction save.
16 min De Bruyne slices a volley wide from 15 yards. It was too high for him to control.
If City get a quick second, they might see this as a chance to eat into Arsenal’s goal difference. But they’ll need to take a huge bite: Arsenal are nine goals ahead. Realistically it’s not going to happen.
14 min There wasn’t much jeopardy in this game at kick-off; there’s even less now. Gary O’Neil’s love affair with VAR continues.
GOAL! Man City 1-0 Wolves (Haaland 12 pen)
Haaland sends Jose Sa the wrong way to give City the lead!
10 min: Penalty to City! A marvellous one-touch move from City ends with Bernardo Silva clipping a cross beyond the far post. Gvardiol smacks it over the bar on the bounce and is caught a split-second later by Ait-Nouri. The referee takes a beat, hears the demands of the City players and then gives the penalty.
I’m not sure about that. It was more of a collision than a foul, and it didn’t impact Gvardiol’s shot. But VAR has upheld the decision.
9 min “I’ve been struck down by some sort of illness so I’ve sat, somewhat pathetically, on the sofa and watched snooker and the Giro,” says David Bowen. “But enough exciting insights into my day.
“One football cliche I have always been confused by is ‘it’s not about performance at this stage of the season, it’s about getting the job done’. Is there any point at any season where it’s not about ‘getting the job done’?”
I don’t mind that cliche, which at least made sense before Jose Mourinho taught everyone in England that points accrued in August and May have the same value. Until then there was often an attitude that the season didn’t start until after Christmas.
8 min Rodri whistles an elegant half-volley over the bar from distance.
6 min Wolves have been positive in possession, trying to get at City quickly rather than give themselves a breather by keeping the ball for a bit.
4 min Haaland feeds the ball into De Bruyne near the penalty spot. He tries to wriggle away from Toti, who stands his ground and wins the ball well. De Bruyne has started very high up the field, almost in a 4-4-2 formation. Pep’s been watching those 1988-89 Football League videos again.
4 min Haaland makes a menacing run behind Toti, but Kovacic’s pass – a difficult one to play because of the angle – runs through to Jose Sa.
2 min Ait-Nouri has started at right wing-back for Wolves, with Semedo as the right centre-back.
1 min Wolves kick off from right to left as we watch. They’re wearing their red change strip because of a clash between the usual home kits.
A reminder of the teams
Man City (possible 4-2-3-1) Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland.
Substitutes: Dias, Stones, Grealish, Doku, Ortega, Alvarez, Gomez, Nunes, Lewis.
Wolves (possible 5-3-2) Jose Sa; Semedo, Toti, Kilman, H Bueno, Ait-Nouri; Gomes, Lemina, Traore; Hwang, Cunha.
Substitutes: Doherty, Santiago Bueno, Sarabia, Bentley, Bellegarde, Gonzalez, Okoduwa, Chirewa, Fraser.
Referee Craig Pawson.
David Silva is back at the Etihad for the first time since Covid (I think). He has just stepped onto the field with his family, smiling a little sheepishly; most of the City fans are on their feet applauding him.
“Do prayers have any effect at all?” muses Charles Antaki. “Apparently Sir Francis Galton ran the numbers, back in the late 19th century, on the comparative health and longevity of ordinary Brits versus members of the royal family, and it turns out that, in spite of routine weekly prayers on behalf of the latter in every church up and down the country, they were no healthier or longer-lived than anyone else. So Arsenal fans have no real reason for lighting the candles and getting out the prayer mats for Wolves this afternoon. But then again it can’t hurt.”
Gary O’Neil, the Wolves manager, won’t be on the touchline today. He’s suspended after losing his rag with VAR last month.
Today’s Premier League results
The last time City didn’t win the league, in 2019-20, Wolves did the double over them. Mind you so did Manchester United and that definitely isn’t happening this season.
Pre-match reading
Team news: Haaland and Foden start
Our Pep makes three changes from the side that started last weekend’s win at the City Ground. Erling Haaland, the well-again Phil Foden and Mateo Kovacic come in for Julian Alvarez, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku.
Gary O’Neil brings in Hugo Bueno for Matt Doherty, which is the only change from last weekend’s win over Luton.. That might mean a switch to a back four.
Your City side for #MCIWOL 🩵
XI | Ederson, Walker (C), Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Foden, Bernardo, Haaland
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Dias, Stones, Grealish, Doku, Alvarez, Gomez, Nunes, Lewis#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/xgEh7s59fO
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 4, 2024
Preamble
Manchester City are so good that they don’t even need to be first to be in pole position. They go into tonight’s match against Wolves knowing that if they win their last four league matches they will win be a champions for a record-breaking fourth successive year. And there’s not a goddamn thing Nicolas Jover can do about it.
Jover, with admirable support from the specialist open-play team at Arsenal, are at least making City work for their jam. Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth earlier today moved them four points clear at the tophaving played two games more. Crucially their goal difference is +60 to City’s +50, which means a City draw would cede the initiative to Arsenal.
City have won their last five league games, scoring 19 goals in the process. There are unconfirmed reports that a couple of those goals didn’t involve Kevin De Bruyne. Not for the first time, De Bruyne is in rampant form at the business end of the season. He was absent when Wolves won the return game at Molineux in September; so was Rodri. City’s defeat that day was a shock; a draw today would be an even bigger one.
Kick off 5.30pm.
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