Wolves 0-4 Manchester City Review

Premier League GW1

Manchester City are back and get off to a great start away from home, winning against Wolves. In the last couple of seasons, this fixture wasn’t an easy one, and that theme continued into this match, but overall a performance that will have City fans excited about the season to come.

Before we get into the match, I just wanted to mention the tribute to Diogo Jota, which was well put together by Wolves, and it’s been great to see how the sport has come together in remembering him.

MOTM: TIJJANI REIJNDERS

Tijjani Reijnders is just the second player to both score and assist on their Premier League debut for Man City after Sergio Agüero vs. Swansea City in 2011. Arguably the best debut by a Manchester City player, and he immediately showcased his qualities that will be crucial to the team’s success this season.

For more on the qualities Reijnders brings, check out a thread here.

Notable Stats:

• Erling Haaland has scored 21 Premier League goals in August. Despite Haaland only playing 12 games in the month, the only players with more August goals are Andrew Cole (25 in 44 games) and Les Ferdinand (22 in 47 games).

• Erling Haaland has scored in each of his four MD1 appearances in the Premier League; only Mohamed Salah (6 successive seasons between 2017-18 and 2022-23) has enjoyed a longer run in the competition’s history.

• Erling Haaland has now scored 87 goals in 98 Premier League games for Manchester City. Twenty more than Mohamed Salah in second (67) since Haaland made his debut in the 22/23 season.

• Rayan Aït-Nouri had more touches (96), made more tackles (6), made more clearances (6), and made more interceptions (3) than any other player against Wolves. 

Game Stats:

Wolves 0 - 4 Manchester City

• xG: 0.60 - 1.95

• xThreat: 0.94 - 1.81

• Possession: 42.4% - 57.6%

• Field Tilt: 36.8% - 63.2%

• Penalty Box Shots: 6 - 8

• Deep Entries: 10 - 12

• PPDA: 11.3 - 8.8

• High Turnovers: 5 - 4

Nico (12), Reijnders (11), and Cherki (6) provided the most entries into the final third against Wolves. Oscar Bobb (6) and Reijnders (2) with the most box entries. Nico (9), Bobb (9), and Reijnders (7) provided the most passes into the half-spaces & zone 14. Reijnders (9) and Nico (8) made the most passes from inside the half-spaces & zone 14, in the PL match against Wolves.

Of course, Abdukodir Khusanov finished the match against Wolves, registered the highest top speed with 33.5 km/h. Nico Gonzalez (12.7km), Tijjani Reijnders (11.9km), and Oscar Bobb (11.7km) covered the most distance. Oscar Bobb (15), John Stones (15), and Erling Haaland (15) with the most number of sprints.

If you want to stay up-to-date on individual player minutes, back four combinations, underlying numbers, and more, check out the live Google sheet below. 👇

Here is how the team lined up against Wolves in the opening match of the season. Guardiola has picked Reijnders, Ait-Nouri, and Trafford to make their debuts. We saw Jeremy Doku and Oscar Bobb holding the width, the former was higher, whilst Bobb looked to drop deep at times. Rico Lewis inverted from right-back and sat deeper in the half-space, and then looked to arrive late into the box, rather than staying high all the time in the pockets. Reijnders was free. He could drop deep, get on the ball, and recycle it. Move into the right-half space and support Oscar Bobb with underlapping runs. Even drive through the middle of the pitch on the ball, if the space opened up, like it did for the opening goal.

One clear takeaway from the approach in this match, when we compare it to the Wolves (A) last season, is that Manchester City were not trying to pin teams as high and dominate territory right into the final third like they used to. Finding the balance, throughout the season, between mixing in more direct approaches and still maintaining control of a game in the right moments will be a weekly talking point.

You need to be able to outscore the opposition when you play poorly and be bailed out by your players when it’s time to suffer, if you want to win the Premier League. That’s common knowledge. What’s not as appreciated is that you must have a consistent way to control matches, regardless of the players you have, to finish on top.

In some games, Bournemouth and Newcastle looked incredible last season, but they couldn’t play that way all season long, in every game and every minute. On the flip side, you can see the benefit of the control Manchester City had in the final 10 Premier League matches last season. The challenge for Guardiola is to find the balance.

One example of how they have used that space in front is having the likes of Reijnders, Nico, and John Stones carrying the ball, driving into that space, with all three of them providing 6 progressive carries each in the match. Stones down the right side mostly, and Nico centrally.

Start by mentioning that there are still plenty of areas the team will need to improve. They'll need to defend this space (blue) better in future games. A few times when NG is dragged out by an opposition player carrying the ball, TR is slow to get back into this space. Good movement by Larsen to get space in front of JS, but he still recovered to make the block.

Another is pressing down the left-hand side. A couple of times when Ait-Nouri jumped to press directly, he’s too tight, and the player is able to spin around him into space inside. Jeremy Doku, a couple of times, tracks back well initially to apply pressure, but then when it works back to a player in space defender in space to cross, he’s slow to react to it. Small points, remembering it is only the first game, but throughout the season, the best players OOP will play the most.

On the right side, Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb have a great relationship, pressing in sync as if they can read each other’s minds. The backline in this game was great at playing the offside trap and keeping straight as a four.

We rarely saw a player give Jeremy Doku an underlapping run to pick out, but when they did, it led to a good chance for Haaland. More is needed in future games.

34' Haaland 1-0

Reijnders dropped deep and dribbled his way through a couple of Wolves players before playing the chipped ball for Rico Lewis. Notice how he changes the tempo and opens up his hips to play a pass, drawing in the player before going past him.

Haaland did make a run in behind when Reijnders first got the ball, which wasn't picked out, but pushed back the Wolves' backline.

Reijnders dribbles, chips the ball over the top for Rico Lewis, who timed his run into the box well. Oscar Bobb holding the width opens up that space. First time low cross along the 6-yard by Rico for Haaland to score. His initial run wasn't picked out, but this one was.

37' Reijnders 2-0

Haaland presses the CB who plays the ball in Andre without much time/space, Oscar Bobb pounces on the opportunity and wins back the ball, starting up the chance for Manchester City to break forward.

The pace of Reijnders over long distances to support Erling Haaland creates the 3v2, and Oscar Bobb weighs the pass for Reijnders well to take a quick shot to the far right corner.

61' Haaland 3-0

The move starts with a good long pass into Reijnders by James Trafford, met with an excellent first touch, allowing him to turn and run at the Wolves' backline.

Pass out to Oscar Bobb, who's holding width on the right side, and then back into Reijnders as he underlaps running into the box. Notice how Haaland drops back behind Reijnders' run, in a position for the cutback, scoring into the far left corner.

81' Cherki 4-0

Reminiscent of his goal in the Club World Cup, Nico plays the pass into Cherki, back heel through to O'Reilly, and plays straight back to him. Gets enough separation moving onto his right foot and shoots across the keeper into the bottom left corner. These are the type of low outside-the-box shots De Bruyne used to score for Manchester City, almost dragged into the corner with precision.

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Moving Forward

In the end, a performance filled with positives from the summer and January signings, and the players that were involved off the bench in Khusanov and O’Reilly point towards the future of the team. All whilst reminding you that this team is not yet near its best. Whether it be mistakes, controlling the game, personnel, or fitness.

We have to remember it’s the first game, Guardiola is already focused on the improvements they need to make, but all of those improvements are possible with this group of players. You’ve seen how quickly Nico Gonzalez has picked up the smaller details of playing six; no doubt he’ll pick up the rest of them.

What you cannot pick up is athleticism as a 35-year-old midfielder, covering ground like you used to now as a 34-year-old right-back, and the hunger of a 21-year-old attacking midfielder looking to win it all for the first time. The squad looks refreshed physically and mentally ahead of the new season, and the work they have to do.

After the match, Guardiola mentioned to all of the outlets interviewing him that the second half was not as good as the first. Below, he was asked what it was in the second half that he didn’t like.

Guardiola was also open about the lack of hunger the players had, not doing the right things every day, and how the injuries were a symptom of that, rather than the cause.

Even with all the positives to take away from the performances, it’s important to mention that Rodri, Foden, and Gvardiol are all coming straight into the squad. If reports are to be believed, you’ve got Rodrygo and Donnarumma to add to that. The squad against Wolves is far from the City squad that will be there for most games this season, once the transfer window closes.

On the other side of that, it was quite telling that Nico O’Reilly came on ahead of Ilkay Gundogan to play in midfield. Abdukodir Khusanov came on ahead of Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake to play CB. With Guardiola reiterating the need for players to leave, those felt like clear messages.

Despite the links for Rico Lewis moving to Nottingham Forest, starting this match against Wolves, and his comments post-match below, give the impression he’s staying this season. For me, it has always hinged on whether he desires to leave or fight for a spot. Without a new right-back, Rico will play a key role in the tactical setup that the team can play as he moves inside.

Last of all, James Trafford performed well on his debut. If Ederson stays, he will take over as number one by the end of the season. Even if Donnarumma comes in this summer, he’s more than capable of making himself the first choice.

Next up for Manchester City is their first home game of the Premier League season, taking on Tottenham Hotspur, on 23rd August at 12:30 (UK). Thomas Frank is their new manager and they beat Burnley 3-0 in the first match of the season.