Premier League
Man CityManchester City1WolvesWolverhampton Wanderers0

Man City 1-0 Wolves: Raheem Sterling scores penalty as Raul Jimenez sent off

By Simon Stone at Etihad StadiumBBC Sport

Raheem Sterling converted a controversial penalty to reach 100 Premier League goals and give Manchester City victory in a one-sided contest with 10-man Wolves.

Sterling kept his cool to roll his 66th-minute spot-kick past Jose Sa after a lengthy VAR check ruled Joao Moutinho had illegally blocked Bernardo Silva's cross, even though it seemed to hit the Wolves midfielder on his armpit.

The decision compounded Wolves' frustrations given they were annoyed at Raul Jimenez's dismissal for two yellow-card offences within seconds of each other near the end of the opening period.

Not that the visitors could have any complaints on the balance of play. City had 24 shots compared to Wolves' three. Sa made three excellent saves, Conor Coady headed an Ilkay Gundogan effort off the line, Max Kilman blocked a goalbound Phil Foden effort and Jack Grealish somehow failed to convert Sterling's far-post cross with the goal at his mercy.

Kilman brought a save out of Ederson at the end but Wolves have failed to score in their past four games and managed just one goal in their past six.

In contrast, City have now six Premier League games in a row to maintain their place at the top of the table and keep the pressure on title rivals Liverpool and Chelsea.

Jimenez's folly

Guardiola praises City 'patience' after win over 10-man Wolves

As the first half drew to a close the atmosphere had been growing increasingly edgy amid allegations from City fans of Wolves' time-wasting, and play-acting in the case of Roman Saiss, who went down in his own area after getting an unseen, accidental finger in the eye from Sterling.

Yellow cards for Ruben Dias and Rodri for fouls on Adama Traore meant it was inevitable Jimenez would get one for dragging Rodri back close to halfway as the interval approached.

For the Wolves striker to then actively block Rodri's free-kick from a couple of yards was an act of folly. Referee Jon Moss had no choice other than to brandish a second yellow at Jimenez, who threw his skull cap down on a couple of occasions as he very slowly made his way off.

The dismissal condemned Wolves to a second-half rearguard effort in which Sa was particularly effective.

Sadly for Grealish, the same was not true of him. The introduction of Kevin de Bruyne for the £100m man came not long after his miss, which was poor and a long way short of the form that attracted Pep Guardiola to him in the first place.

Ederson was a bystander for most of the half. But the Brazilian was alert when it counted to keep out Kilman's header and, in the process, complete the 100th clean sheet of his City career.

Head clash reminder

Jimenez sending off and Man City penalty 'hard decisions to accept'

Jimenez's recovery from a fractured skull has just been recounted in an excellent documentary made by Wolves that has been available to watch on the BBC.

The sight of Kilman and Neves clashing heads in the first half was a sickening reminder of that awful day at Arsenal, when Nuno Espirito Santo's immediate fear was that the Mexican's life was in danger.

Thankfully, it was soon apparent that the damage this time was not comparable. Kilman had blood running down his face and required a headband, while Neves was checked over before he too was allowed to continue.

The incident is bound to trigger discussion around the need for temporary concussion substitutes, although, given the history with Jimenez, it is hard to imagine the Wolves medical staff would have allowed either man to continue had there been any doubt about their fitness to do so.

As it turned out, Kilman completed the full 90 minutes and Neves lasted 82 before he was replaced by Francisco Trincao as Wolves boss Bruno Lage searched in vain for an equaliser.

City are next in action against Leeds at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday at 20:00 GMT, while Wolves play Brighton on Wednesday at 19:30.

Player of the match

CoadyConor Coady

with an average of 8.06

Manchester City

  1. Squad number20Player nameBernardo Silva
    Average rating

    6.56

  2. Squad number27Player nameJoão Cancelo
    Average rating

    6.48

  3. Squad number31Player nameEderson
    Average rating

    6.25

  4. Squad number47Player nameFoden
    Average rating

    6.23

  5. Squad number16Player nameRodri
    Average rating

    6.16

  6. Squad number3Player nameRúben Dias
    Average rating

    6.10

  7. Squad number7Player nameSterling
    Average rating

    6.06

  8. Squad number14Player nameLaporte
    Average rating

    6.04

  9. Squad number8Player nameGündogan
    Average rating

    6.04

  10. Squad number11Player nameZinchenko
    Average rating

    5.99

  11. Squad number17Player nameDe Bruyne
    Average rating

    5.95

  12. Squad number9Player nameGabriel Jesus
    Average rating

    5.75

  13. Squad number10Player nameGrealish
    Average rating

    5.21

Wolverhampton Wanderers

  1. Squad number16Player nameCoady
    Average rating

    8.06

  2. Squad number23Player nameKilman
    Average rating

    7.93

  3. Squad number1Player nameJosé Sá
    Average rating

    7.71

  4. Squad number3Player nameAït-Nouri
    Average rating

    7.36

  5. Squad number27Player nameSaïss
    Average rating

    7.15

  6. Squad number8Player nameRúben Neves
    Average rating

    6.91

  7. Squad number22Player nameNélson Semedo
    Average rating

    6.69

  8. Squad number28Player nameJoão Moutinho
    Average rating

    6.68

  9. Squad number32Player nameDendoncker
    Average rating

    6.62

  10. Squad number26Player nameHwang Hee-chan
    Average rating

    6.28

  11. Squad number10Player nameDaniel Podence
    Average rating

    6.17

  12. Squad number37Player nameTraoré
    Average rating

    5.96

  13. Squad number11Player nameTrincão
    Average rating

    5.70

  14. Squad number9Player nameJiménez
    Average rating

    4.32

Line-ups

Man City

Formation 4-3-3

  • 31Ederson
  • 27CanceloBooked at 81mins
  • 3Rúben DiasBooked at 40mins
  • 14Laporte
  • 11Zinchenko
  • 20Bernardo Silva
  • 16RodriBooked at 43mins
  • 8GündoganSubstituted forFodenat 56'minutes
  • 7Sterling
  • 9Gabriel Jesus
  • 10GrealishSubstituted forDe Bruyneat 74'minutes

Substitutes

  • 2Walker
  • 5Stones
  • 6Aké
  • 13Steffen
  • 17De Bruyne
  • 25Fernandinho
  • 26Mahrez
  • 47Foden
  • 80Palmer

Wolves

Formation 3-5-2

  • 1
  • 23Kilman
  • 16Coady
  • 27Saïss
  • 22Nélson Semedo
  • 32DendonckerBooked at 78minsSubstituted forPodenceat 87'minutes
  • 8NevesBooked at 45minsSubstituted forMachado Trincãoat 82'minutes
  • 28João Moutinho
  • 3Aït-Nouri
  • 9JiménezBooked at 45mins
  • 37TraoréSubstituted forHwang Hee-chanat 67'minutes

Substitutes

  • 2Hoever
  • 5Marçal
  • 10Podence
  • 11Machado Trincão
  • 15Boly
  • 17Fábio Silva
  • 21Ruddy
  • 26Hwang Hee-chan
  • 39Cundle
Referee:
Jonathan Moss
Attendance:
52,613

Match Stats

Home TeamMan CityAway TeamWolves
Possession
Home71%
Away29%
Shots
Home24
Away2
Shots on Target
Home10
Away1
Corners
Home14
Away1
Fouls
Home12
Away5

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Manchester City 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Manchester City 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0.

  3. Post update

    Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Ederson.

  4. Post update

    Attempt saved. Maximilian Kilman (Wolverhampton Wanderers) header from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Daniel Podence with a cross.

  5. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Phil Foden (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Raheem Sterling.

  6. Post update

    Attempt saved. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.

  7. Post update

    Attempt saved. Phil Foden (Manchester City) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Oleksandr Zinchenko.

  8. Substitution

    Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Daniel Podence replaces Leander Dendoncker.

  9. Post update

    Foul by Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City).

  10. Post update

    Nélson Semedo (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  11. Substitution

    Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Trincão replaces Rúben Neves.

  12. Booking

    João Cancelo (Manchester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  13. Post update

    Foul by João Cancelo (Manchester City).

  14. Post update

    Hwang Hee-Chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  15. Post update

    Attempt saved. Rodri (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Phil Foden with a cross.

  16. Post update

    Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by José Sá.

  17. Post update

    Attempt saved. Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Kevin De Bruyne.

  18. Post update

    Foul by Rodri (Manchester City).

  19. Post update

    Rayan Aït-Nouri (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  20. Booking

    Leander Dendoncker (Wolverhampton Wanderers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Everything you need to know about your Premier League team banner
  • Our coverage of your Premier League club is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment
BBC Sport banner footer

Comments

Join the conversation

These comments are now closed.

1398 comments

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Man City1612223392438
2Liverpool16114145123337
3Chelsea16113238112736
4West Ham158342819927
5Man Utd168352624227
6Arsenal168262122-126
7Tottenham148151617-125
8Wolves166371214-221
9Brentford165562122-120
10Brighton154831416-220
11Leicester155462327-419
12Aston Villa166192125-419
13Everton155371925-618
14Crystal Palace153751921-216
15Leeds163761725-816
16Southampton163761424-1016
17Watford1641112131-1013
18Burnley141761421-710
19Newcastle151771730-1310
20Norwich162410832-2410
View full Premier League table

Elsewhere on the BBC