De Bruyne and Pep not finished yet as City grab vital points
Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne (left) celebrates scoring their side's first goal. Pic: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.
Kevin De Bruyne, a man whose Manchester City career is winding to an imminent close, scored an important goal in his team’s quest for a Champions League place but much of the talk at the Etihad centred around an individual whose future is a little less clear.
Pep Guardiola appeared in a Brazilian interview before kick-off in which he talked of taking a break from the game - possibly even retiring - when his contract with City ends in 2027.
That sparked speculation that the brilliant City manager may be plotting a premature end to his time in charge, a fear he was quick to dispel before the game.
"I didn’t say I'm leaving now, or the end of season or the end of contract,” explained Guardiola. “I said when I finish my time here, be it one, two, three, four, five years I will take a break.
"I won't retire but I will take a break. What I am saying is when I am finished here I will take a break."
That was good news for City supporters, who may yet see this disappointing season end with triumph in the FA Cup final and a top-five finish - the latter moving a step closer, thanks to this win and an opening goal from De Bruyne, who will leave the club later this month.
Wolves, looking to win seven consecutive top flight games for the second time ever, and the first in 79 years, made a bright enough start.
Home fans, disgruntled with the club’s ticket pricing and availability policy, delayed taking their seats until the sixth minute, leaving plenty of empty spaces for the opening exchanges.
And, by the time those seats started to fill, the two in-form sides were locked in what looked like being a closely-fought contest and one in which the visitors might have taken a deserved lead.
Wolves weathered a spell of City pressure, culminating in Omar Marmoush flashing a shot over, before launching a scintillating counter which saw Jean-Ricner Bellegarde break upfield.
He squared across Ederson and an empty City goal and Marshall Munetsi, arriving at full steam, slid and narrowly missed connecting in front of the open net.
It was a warning City failed to heed and, from their next attack, Wolves were desperately unfortunate not to break the deadlock after Rayan Ait-Nouri attacked, and beat, Nunes down the left wing.
He threaded the ball in for Cunha who, brilliantly, laid it off for Ait-Nouri whose shot struck the foot of the City post and rebounded to the shooter, whose second effort struck Josko Gvardiol on the line.
This was a real battle for City who, despite an eight-game unbeaten run in league and cup, were desperately in need of three points to improve their hopes of Champions League football.
City left-back Nico O’Reilly relieved the pressure when he received Jeremy Doku’s pass, and had a shot which Jose Sa tipped over the Wolves bar and, when the hosts did finally take the lead on 35 minutes, Doku was again the architect.
De Bruyne, making his penultimate appearance at the Etihad as a City player, started and ended the move, advancing from midfield and finding Ilkay Gundogan who sent Doku into the area.
The winger showed intricate footwork to create space, before pulling the ball back to the penalty spot from where De Bruyne buried an unstoppable finish.
Wolves remained a considerable threat after the break, however, with Manchester United target Matheus Cunha creating a shot out of nothing, on the edge of the area, and hitting the post just before the hour.
Ederson 6; Nunes 6, Dias 7, Gvardiol 7, O’Reilly 6 (Akanji 58, 6); Gundogan 7 (McAtee 84), Kovacic 7 (Gonzalez 90); Silva 6, De Bruyne 7 (Foden 84), Doku 8; Marmoush 6 (Lewis 83).
Sa 6; Doherty 6 (Sarabia 66, 6), Agbadou 6, T Gomes 7; Semedo 7 (Bueno 85), J Gomes 6, Andre 7 (Guedes 80), Ait-Nouri 7; Munetsi 6, Bellegarde 7 (R Gomes 66, 5); Cunha 8 (Hee-Chan 85).
P Bankes 7
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
