Fire and fury at Molineux as Manchester City’s perfect record went up in smoke. Matheus Nunes was hounded off, Erling Haaland barely touched the round thing and the champions looked uncharacteristically limp.
Nunes actually helped Wolves. That wasn’t his fault but this place needed somebody to collectively rail against and the persistent, and ferocious, jeering of their old midfielder did no harm to Gary O’Neil whatsoever.
It was uncomfortable for City, painful for Nunes, removed at the break with Wolves already a goal up. A nasty afternoon – nine bookings and a melee after full time – and that is how you beat Pep Guardiola’s side, who looked bereft without Rodri. He isn’t there at Arsenal next weekend either, which should come as a major worry.
With not as much control and more susceptible to counters, the absence of their sitting midfielder became ever more glaring. Hwang Lee-chan’s winner six minutes after the hour, on a trademark breakaway, offers a major boost to O’Neil, who had fielded significant criticism following the defeat at Ipswich Town a few days earlier.
This is the sort of occasion that can turn a manager’s fortunes and how Wolves celebrated it indicates they believe beating the Treble winners can act as a catalyst in a way a result against Liverpool recently might have.
Gary O’Neil’s Wolves secured a historic victory by defeating Man City at Molineux – ending their 100 per cent record
The hosts produced an inspired performance while Pep Guardiola’s side were below par on Saturday as they fell behind twice
Pep Guardiola was serving a touchline ban and looked less than impressed as he watched his side’s defeat from the stands
‘If you beat the best team in the world, or possibly the best team ever, it’s obviously a big result,’ O’Neil said. ‘It’s an unexpected three points against a team that will probably win the league again.
‘Liverpool introduced a level of chaos where today City are structured, you know where everyone is going to be. The game looked as we’d prepared for. We went into a lot of detail.’
That centred on Matheus Cunha, the centre forward, screening Mateo Kovacic. Wolves let Ruben Dias have the ball as a spare man and City never truly cut through with proper regularity.
This result was coming long before the maligned Craig Pawson blew up.
The sight of Haaland, blunted by Craig Dawson and Max Kilman in registering only 15 touches, hurtling towards Pawson moments before the break told it all of City’s early frustration.
Hwang, already on a booking, had felled Kyle Walker and City implored Pawson to reach into his pocket again.
Wolves played on the edge, thundering into tackles but City believed it had gone too far.
Yet as Guardiola made his way down three flights of stairs from directors’ box to dressing room, he knew that a failure to break through a stubborn wall was why they trailed.
‘It’s not easy for Erling when there’s lots of players around him,’ Guardiola said.
The solution was to call for teenager Oscar Bobb, replacing Nunes.
‘What a waste of money,’ rang out for the £53million man from the Sir Jack Hayward end. The home support had completed their job quite nicely.
Things had become overly congested in the central areas of the pitch, City not really threatening sufficiently from wide.
City had the better of the early chances with defender Manuel Akanji sending an effort over the bar for the visitors
But Wolves would shock the Premier League leaders after attacker Pedro Neto made a strong run into the box
The Portugal international’s subsequent effort was deflected off Ruben Dias and into the net to give his side the lead
Dawson’s intervention when Haaland was destined to poke the visitors into an early lead, deflecting a Nunes centre away from the Norwegian, had been as close as they came.
Pawson ended up losing control and there is an irony that Guardiola – never shy in coming forward on the touchline – might have found himself in the book had he not been serving a one-match ban for three yellow cards. Sat two seats down from Mike Summerbee in the main stand, he was reduced to chuntering to sporting director Txiki Begiristain.
Wolves boldly kept three men in positions to fully capitalise when the opportunity arose. Neto is rather handy for that and the Portuguese, who is beginning to re-emerge as a force, caused untold issues down the City left. The opener, on 13 minutes, was all of his doing.
Craig Dawson produced a pair of vital goal-line clearances to deny the visitors as Man City looked to find a way back
City looked like they were on course for a comeback win when Julian Alvarez netted direct from a free-kick in the second-half
But Wolves continued undeterred and Hwang-Hee Chan restored his side’s shock advantage just eight minutes later
City applied the pressure in the final stages but O’Neil’s side hung on to secure their second league win of the season
Kovacic and Phil Foden crowded each other’s space and Neto was off, 15 yards into his own half. Foden couldn’t keep up and Nathan Ake was done for pace, Neto charging towards the byline. He looked up, saw Cunha timing his advance, only for Dias to intercept beyond Ederson for them.
Molineux resembled a bear pit and that only heightened further 13 minutes after the break. Not for the quality of Julian Alvarez’s free-kick, helped into the top corner by a despairing Jose Sa, but the award.
Bobb appeared to be given a free role and progressed towards the box when Joao Gomes nudged him. Bobb bundled over, Pawson blew for the foul and this place lost its head.
Yet the theme of this was that Wolves had the measure of City. Hwang had his goal, deliriously twirling away into the corner after mopping up a scramble. To get to that position, Wolves clipped a ball over Ake – an area they regularly profited from – and the sense of chaos into City’s box saw Dias block Hwang’s first effort before the South Korean was afforded a second bite, Walker narrowly failing to head it off the line.
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