Pedro Neto starred as Wolves beat Manchester City 2-1 to hand Pep Guardiola’s side their first defeat of the Premier League campaign.
Here are five things we learned from a shock win for Gary O’Neil’s side…
‘Villain’ Nunes has horrendous Molineux return
Who would blame Matheus Nunes for joining Manchester City? The Citizens are the current treble winners and offer Nunes a lot more than what Wolves can. However, the way the Portuguese international left the midlands outfit in the summer did not go down well with the home faithful, having refused to train with the side in an attempt to force a move to the Premier League champions. He returned to Molineux to a deafening chorus of boos every time he received the ball, with some unsavoury chants thrown in as well. Nunes was subbed at half time to compile his misery.
Neto finally shows his potential
What a start to the season Pedro Neto is having. The young Portuguese star looks to have finally dusted off his baron run of injuries to become Wolves’ most influential player, firmly becoming the Wanderers’ focal point in attack after a raft of attacking departures in the summer. The 23-year-old notched up his fifth assist of the campaign after a brilliant lung busting run, evading everything Manchester City threw at him. Having been linked to much better opposition in previous years, it would be no surprise to see the winger high on other teams’ radars come January or the summer.
Suspended Pep left perplexed by plucky Wolves
Having already missed two matches following back surgery, Pep Guardiola was forced to watch from the stands having already picked up enough bookings to be suspended from the touchline. The Catalan watched on from high up as his side headed back to Manchester empty handed and with their tails firmly between their legs. Gary O’Neil’s side showed excellent defensive resilience against the best team in Europe. Although Julian Alvarez equalised for City with a stunning free kick, it did not take long for Hwang Hee-Chan to restore Wolves’ lead, condemning Pep to a first league defeat of the season.
The rising stock of Gary O’Neil
When you look back at the predicament Wolves found themselves in a mere four days before the start of the Premier League season, O’Neil can be proud that his side have amassed seven points from their opening seven matches. The Wolves boss has to take a lot of credit for that, with the ex-Bournemouth manager having taken over from Julien Lopetegui and took the reigns of a ship that looked destined to sink. Superb against Manchester United and Liverpool, and excellent again today, Wolves need to build under O’Neil if they harbour any hope of a return to regular top-half finishes.
Nothing to worry about for City
While this might go down as a poor Manchester City performance, Wolves were worth every penny for their win. City were the much more dominant side, but were not at their clinical best. Erling Haaland was kept remarkably quiet by Craig Dawson all match, with the Norwegian not getting a sniff at the Wolves goal. Despite the defeat, Pep Guardiola’s men remain top of the Premier League but the race for the title has been blown wide open.
