Newly Promoted Wolves Hold Champs Man City to 1-1 Draw

Wolves put in a spirited performance to hold Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at Molineux.

Wolverhampton Wanderers put in a spirited performance to hold Manchester City to a 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon, in a lively Premier League encounter at Molineux.

The first half was a fiercely fought contest, with both sides registering efforts on goal. City ace Raheem Sterling saw a long range effort spectacularly tipped onto the post by Rui Patrício, before Sergio Aguero also rattled the woodwork. Wolves had a goal correctly ruled offside, as Raúl Jiménez strayed beyond the visitors' defensive line before firing home the finish in vain.

Sam Bagnall - AMA/GettyImages

Wolves took a shot lead early in the second half, as Wily Boly nodded home after finding himself unmarked in front of goal. The City fans were enraged, as the ball clearly went in via his hand. The visitors hit back soon after, as Aymeric Laporte crashed home a header following a pinpoint free kick cross from İlkay Gündoğan.

The visitors were unable to push for the winner, as Nuno Espírito Santo's side held on to claim a precious point against the Champions.

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

Key Talking Point

Wolves' rise from Championship also-rans to some kind of Portuguese Harlem Globetrotters has been meteoric to say the least, and they showed themselves being more than at home in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Boly and Coady's defending in the first half 👏 #WOLMCI pic.twitter.com/FauWisdIbR

— 90min (@90min_Football) August 25, 2018

Evidently geed up by their rampant fan support and ever charismatic manager Nuno Espírito Santo, the hosts looked comfortable in possession, assured in defence and more than capable of launching a stinging counter attack.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Patrício (8), Coady (6), Bennett (7), Boly (9), Doherty (7), Neves (6), Moutinho (6), Jonny (7), Jota (7), Jiménez (6), Costa (6)

Substitutes: Traore (6), Vinagre (N/A)

Star Man - Wily Boly

Shaun Botterill/GettyImages

Willy Boly has had a shaky start to life in the Premier League, but his defensive work against the Citizens was truly top notch. The 6ft 5in powerhouse excelled against the visitors' wealth of attacking talent, putting on a masterclass in disciplined defending.

While his second half goal arguably should have been ruled out for handball, the Frenchman's ability to be in the right place at the right time must be applauded. Here's how his performance went down on social media:

Big result for wolves wily boly was unreal

— Harpz Singh (@harpz01) August 25, 2018

Wolves take the lead against Manchester City thanks to an astonishing diving header from Willy Boly. pic.twitter.com/1lb6sl9A18

— Jonny Sharples (@JonnyGabriel) August 25, 2018

Wily Boly has been unbelievable

— Ste (@Hurrikeen) August 25, 2018

Worst Player - Rúben Neves

To be fair, it wasn't a shocking performance by any stretch of the imagination. Rúben Neves worked tirelessly for his side, but his propensity to shoot on sight ,while arguably justified given his reputation for scoring screamers, often squandered chances. He also made a series of fouls as the game progressed, and could have been penalised for clattering Raheem Sterling in the box.

MANCHESTER CITY

Key Talking Point

While it's a long, long old season, Pep Guardiola's decision to rotate his squad arguably backfired on Saturday. Switching out attacking options is often a useful way to vary up the threat going forward, but chopping and changing a defence can often be problematic.

Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages

Ask any defender, and they'll tell you that playing alongside the same players in a backline is imperative to finding consistency, and Guardiola may need to think twice about rotating his defensive options again.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Ederson (6), Walker (7), Kompany (5), Laporte (7), Mendy (7), Fernandinho (7), Gündoğan (6), Silva (8), Sterling (7), Bernardo (7), Agüero (6)

Substitutes: Sané (6), Mahrez (N/A), Jesus (6)

Star Man - David Silva

Stu Forster/GettyImages

While it wasn't quite up to the excellence of his barnstorming effort against Huddersfield Town last weekend, David Silva had another fine performance against Wolves. Diligently working away with cunning and creative passing, the Spaniard caused the hosts real problems with his trickery.

With Kevin de Bruyne out for a decent chunk of the season, there's a lot of pressure on Silva to step up as City's chief midfielder creator. Thus far, he's taken to the task with aplomb, and looks more than up to the challenge.

Here's how his performance went down on social media:

David Silva is just magical.

— Dahir 🇵🇸🏆 (@dboetan7i) August 25, 2018

David Silva is the best playmaker in the English premier league. Pure joy to watch

— Kaizen (@JuniorAmanze) August 25, 2018

David Silva is the most underrated player of all time.

— JB (@yungburmos) August 25, 2018

David Silva's like a man possessed, so angry and getting to every ball what a player

— Callum (@Cal_EFC) August 25, 2018

Worst Player - Vincent Kompany

Vincent Kompany had one of those days for the Citizens, as the pressure of Wolves' rapid counter-attack saw him commit a series of silly fouls, while being caught out of position on a number of occasions.

The club captain was fortunate that his errors didn't prove more costly, after letting Diogo Jota surge past him, who set up the fractionally offside Raúl Jiménez to fire the ball into the net. To be fair to the Belgian veteran, his late block did saved his team from conceding at the death.

Looking Ahead

Wolves will look to build on their impressive performance next Tuesday, when they take on Championship side Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup. Next up in the Premier League, the west Midlands side travel to West Ham United next weekend.

The Citizens will hope to bounce to back from their disappointing draw next Saturday, when they play host to Newcastle United.