Manchester City travelled to the West Midlands to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineaux Stadium earlier today. The Citizens made just two changes for this clash and began the match in total control. However, they were denied by some resolute Wolves defending and were held to a goalless draw at half-time.
Pep Guardiola’s men came out with a lot of enthusiasm in the second half but conceded a controversial goal when Willy Boly handled the ball while scoring his goal. City refused to give up and responded through Aymeric Laporte’s powerful header in the 69th minute. However, Nuno Espirito Santo’s team hung on to secure a hard-fought, gritty draw from this match.
Let’s take a look at how each Man City player fared during the encounter against Wolves.
GK: Ederson – 7.5/10
The Brazilian goalie made a few great saves to keep his team in the game. However, he was left helpless during the Wolves opener. His ball distribution was excellent once again and was unlucky not to keep a clean sheet on the day.
RB: Kyle Walker – 7/10
Another strong defensive performance from the English speedster. He dealt with Diogo Jota’s threat quite well but failed to provide an outlet going forward down the right flank.
CB: Vincent Kompany – 5/10
An unusually poor performance from the Belgian international. He was caught out while on possession of the ball quite a few times and deservedly got cautioned in between the first quarter of the game.
CB: Aymeric Laporte – 7/10
He scored with a fantastic header after Gundogan put in an inviting ball from a City freekick. He coped well defensively but had a nervy few moments during the match.
LB: Benjamin Mendy – 8.5/10
The French full-back was one of Guardiola’s best performers during the match. He stretched the pitch well and got in a few dangerous crosses from the left flank.
CM: Fernandinho – 6/10
The Brazilian used his experience well to retain possession but had a few problems dealing with the home team’s fast counter-attacks.
CM: IIkay Gündogan – 6.5/10
His delivery in the lead up to Laporte’s goal was excellent. However, the German found life difficult against Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho at the centre of the park.
CM: David Silva – 6/10
The Spanish playmaker initially struggled to get going but put on a much-improved performance in the second half.
RW: Bernardo Silva – 7/10
The Portuguese winger worked hard for his team and put in many inviting crosses while cutting in from the right flank.
LW: Raheem Sterling – 5/10
A poor showing from the England international, Sterling failed to make an impact in the final third and was guilty of overrunning the ball quite often.
ST: Sergio Agüero – 6/10
The Argentine hattrick hero from last weekend could have scored a brace today but he hit the bar twice. It seems like Lady Luck was not on his side during the game.
Substitutes:
ST: Gabriel Jesus – 6/10
His goal-bound header was saved by Rui Patricio.
RW: Leroy Sane – 5/10
He made one good run but failed to produce the goods when required.
CM: Riyad Mahrez – N/A
The Algerian hardly had any time to make an impact.
