Man City 2 (Marmoush 6, Semenyo 45+2) Wolves 0
Wolves were beaten but not disgraced at the Etihad, as two first half goals from Manchester City saw the Old Gold’s five-match unbeaten run ended.
Omar Marmoush’s close range finish at the start of the half was added to by Antoine Semenyo’s crisp strike at the other end of the opening 45 to put the hosts in control at the break.
Wolves made changes and improved in the second period, with Yerson Mosquera hitting the crossbar proving the closest they came to a route back into the game, as the champions prevailed in Manchester.
As is often the case at the Etihad, Wolves had a tough task ahead of them and the first warning sign was Marc Guehi heading Bernardo Silva’s corner at Jose Sa within five minutes.
Frustratingly for the visitors, the opening goal arrived just one minute later. City worked the ball to Matheus Nunes and his whipped crossed saw Marmoush get in ahead of Mosquera and convert from close range.
Wolves knew they had to keep the scoring down at that point, so were grateful to see Semenyo shoot straight at Sa and Nico O’Reilly blaze over before 20 minutes were out.
From that point the Old Gold improved. When a clever Andre flick beat the City press, Wolves were away and, having been picked out by Hee Chan Hwang, Mateus Mane curled over the bar from a promising position.
At the other end, Marmoush struck the foot of Sa’s post, after his touch back had caught the arm of Mosquera, but following a VAR review, no penalty was given.
The hosts would go in for the break two goals to the good, however. A slick move saw Rayan Cherki and Silva combine, with the latter feeding Semenyo, and he had space just inside the Wolves box to curl into the far corner for 2-0.
Half-time | Man City 2-0 Wolves
Rodrigo Gomes and Jorgen Strand Larsen were introduced at the break and helped their side to an improved second period. The Old Gold began to push their hosts back and win a series of set pieces, which led to Joao Gomes curling a free-kick just over and having a header turned behind.
Mane’s involvement was rising, Rodrigo Gomes was causing problems with his pace and set pieces were coming into the City box, but Wolves couldn’t find a way through.
Semenyo did come close to making it three for City. When Phil Foden found him, the winger cut inside and crashed a powerful effort off the crossbar.
Next it was Wolves’ turn to strike the woodwork. Mane’s corner found the head of Mosquera, whose flicked effort bounced back off the crossbar, with arguably a defter touch required.
To their credit, Edwards’ side kept going. Mane had a shot blocked, before his clever feet carved out two final chances, but O’Reilly’s brave defending denied both Mosquera and Tolu Arokodare a consolation at the end, which they’d arguable deserved.
Full-time | Man City 2-0 Wolves
Man City | Donnarumma, Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly, Rodri, Silva, Reijnders (Foden 61), Semenyo, Cherki (Haaland 73), Marmoush (Doku 74).
Unused subs | Trafford, Ake, Ait-Nouri, Mukasa, Alleyne, Lewis.
Wolves | Sa, Tchatchoua (R Gomes 45), Mosquera, S Bueno, Krejci, H Bueno, Andre, J Gomes, Arias (Strand Larsen 45), Mane, Hwang (Arokodare 71).
Unused subs | Johnstone, Lima, Doherty, Agbadou, Wolfe, Lopez.
