A second-half penalty from Raheem Sterling secured Manchester City’s narrow win over 10-man Wolves at the Etihad Stadium.
Man City 1-0 Wolves
Pep Guardiola was pleased his Manchester City side moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League table after beating 10-man Wolves 1-0 at the Etihad.
The Cityzens returned to winning ways after their midweek Champions League defeat to RB Leipzig.
The Spanish coach was hoping for an instant reaction on Saturday afternoon but their all-round display was frustrated by the visitors, who parked the bus for the majority of the game at the Etihad stadium.
Man City found it difficult to create clear-cut chances but Raul Jimenez made it easier for the home side towards the end of the first half.
The Mexico striker was shown a yellow card for a foul on midfielder Rodri and earned another yellow card 38 seconds later for blocking the resulting free-kick.
In the second half of the game, it was just as we all expected, attack vs defence with the homeside registering 24 shots on goal, and Jose Sa’s making three crucial saves.
However, City kept mounting pressure and got their reward in the 65th minute when Raheem Sterling converted a controversial penalty to make it 1-0.
Referee Jon Moss suspected Joao Moutinho blocked Bernardo Silva’s cross with his arm and VAR also went on with the decision despite replays showing the ball hit the midfielders armpit.
Wolves defended for the majority of the game and did not test City’s shot-stopper Ederson well enough.
The win means Man City will remain at the top of the table even if Chelsea or Liverpool secure wins over Leeds and Aston Villa respectively.
'His contribution to this club is massive'
After the tie, Man City boss Guardiola briefly asserted the game when he spoke to BBC Sport. “Against 11 players we were better. It is not easy to play against them with 10,” he said. "They defended really well. We suffered against them last season, by not attacking in the right moments and they punish you. But we were patient and deserved the win. "We played really good. It is not easy. They had 10 players in the box, eight or nine for crosses. It is difficult and today maybe we missed some chances. But despite that, we won the game."
Quizzed about Raheem Sterling’s 100th Premier League goal, Pep replied: “Big congratulations. He is still a young player and 100 goals is a lot of goals. His contribution to this club is massive. He is back scoring goals, has confidence. It’s good."
When asked what he thought of Ederson’s 100th Premier League clean sheet, he said: "Congratulations to him as well. We conceded late goals against West Ham and Watford but finally, he can achieve it.
"And that’s why we have Edi with his contributions in the right moment, a big save in the second half.
"We don’t concede many chances but what chances they have, he is there.”
'It's a crazy decision'
Wolves boss Bruno Lage told BBC Sport: “We came here to play in the beautiful stadium against one of the best teams in the world and one of the best managers of all time.
"I prefer to talk about the first half. Our team came to play our game. We knew they would have more time on the ball. We defended very well.
"The second half was different. We tried to do our best. I’m proud of my players and our fans because they supported us from the first minute.”
On Jimenez’s red card: “The first yellow card. He did not touch the guy and it is in our half and we had 10 men behind the ball. I don’t believe in tactical fouls when you are in transition.
"The first yellow card is a crazy decision for me, in my opinion. A hard decision to accept."
On the penalty: “I believe in VAR and that it can help this game and the referee. The referee saw his arm and the rules say he is trying to create a bigger body. But the ball touched here [his armpit]. But after the referee whistles it’s a VAR decision.
"Look, It’s on to Brighton and I want to boost the morale of the players because they gave everything. We move on."
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