Guardiola's Manchester City returned to winning ways against Wolves despite a rare VAR intervention that saw no penalty awarded for Yerson Mosquera's handball. The defeat marked a fifth consecutive game without a win and was a significant setback for the visitors, who are now 14 points adrift of safety.
Pep Guardiola had made several changes to his starting lineup, with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden dropped, in an effort to get back on track after a dismal run of form. The team's performance showed signs of improvement, but it was the Wolves manager, Rob Edwards, who deserved much of the credit for turning around his team's fortunes.
Edwards' decision to make several substitutions at halftime seemed to spark a transformation in the second period. Jørgen Strand Larsen and Rodrigo Gomes entered the game, with Mané being pushed back into midfield, where he caused problems for City with his pace and skill. The youngster played a key role in Wolves' goal-scoring opportunities, including two crosses that forced City goalkeeper Donnarumma to make crucial saves.
Despite this, it was Manchester City who ultimately scored twice, courtesy of Marmoush's first league goal since August and Bernardo Silva's excellent finish. Antoine Semenyo sealed the win with a third goal in four matches since joining from Bournemouth.
Guardiola was frustrated by the VAR decision not to award a penalty for Mosquera's handball, but he remained upbeat about his team's performance. He pointed out that City had received several unfair officiating decisions over the years and cited recent examples such as Diogo Dalot's stamp on Jérémy Doku as evidence.
The win marked a welcome return to form for Manchester City, who are now 10 points clear of fifth place. For Wolves, Edwards' mid-season appointment seems to be paying dividends, but they still face a long and difficult road to safety.
Pep Guardiola had made several changes to his starting lineup, with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden dropped, in an effort to get back on track after a dismal run of form. The team's performance showed signs of improvement, but it was the Wolves manager, Rob Edwards, who deserved much of the credit for turning around his team's fortunes.
Edwards' decision to make several substitutions at halftime seemed to spark a transformation in the second period. Jørgen Strand Larsen and Rodrigo Gomes entered the game, with Mané being pushed back into midfield, where he caused problems for City with his pace and skill. The youngster played a key role in Wolves' goal-scoring opportunities, including two crosses that forced City goalkeeper Donnarumma to make crucial saves.
Despite this, it was Manchester City who ultimately scored twice, courtesy of Marmoush's first league goal since August and Bernardo Silva's excellent finish. Antoine Semenyo sealed the win with a third goal in four matches since joining from Bournemouth.
Guardiola was frustrated by the VAR decision not to award a penalty for Mosquera's handball, but he remained upbeat about his team's performance. He pointed out that City had received several unfair officiating decisions over the years and cited recent examples such as Diogo Dalot's stamp on Jérémy Doku as evidence.
The win marked a welcome return to form for Manchester City, who are now 10 points clear of fifth place. For Wolves, Edwards' mid-season appointment seems to be paying dividends, but they still face a long and difficult road to safety.
he's right though, unfair officiating has been a thing for ages! 
and seriously edwards' halftime subs were pure genius, wolfs are looking much better under him 
mané's pace and skill are giving city nightmares 
marmoush scoring his first league goal since aug is super exciting btw, can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds for city & wolves 
i feel bad for wolves tho, edwards did an amazing job turning it around in the 2nd half 
especially with mané's pace & skill 
he's been playing out of his skin lately! 
and mané himself? 
totally deserved that criticism from guardiola about the var decision tho 
gotta respect the goalies making those saves too 
, but i guess you can't control those decisions. anyway, glad to see City back on track with 2 wins in a row 
. Those subs at halftime were super smart by Rob Edwards - gave him some fresh legs and made all the difference 
. Mané causing problems for City is no surprise, he's always been a threat 
. It'll be interesting to see how both teams respond in the coming weeks 
edwards got it spot on by bringing in larsen and gomes, those two changed the dynamic of the game and caused city a lot of problems...and for manchester city, getting back to winning ways is huge, but 14 points adrift from safety is still a massive worry 
... Guardiola's all like "VAR didn't give us the break we deserved", but what about all those times City get away with dodgy calls? It's always "we're just unlucky" when they're on a losing streak. Meanwhile, Wolves are getting a bit of justice for once and it's like magic 
... I'm not buying that Edwards just magically turns his team around overnight 
. Something more is at play here 
...
. But yeah, VAR can be super weird sometimes... like what's up with that Mosquera handball call? 
can you believe it? wolves were all over them but got none. edwards must be doing something right for his team tho. he made those subs at halftime and suddenly they're on fire 
, their bench looks deep right now and I think Guardiola's changes at halftime were spot on 
so City finally wins a game after like forever 
i mean, come on guys, that handball was pretty clear! 
, they showed some great team spirit and played some smart football. we'll see if man city can keep this momentum going 
. The VAR decision was a bit harsh tho 
... gotta keep pushing for those top spots 
, that was a total handball and it would've been a penalty if the refs had seen it. anyway, marmoush's goal was like wowww what a finish 
. And can we talk about the Wolves team for a sec? Rob Edwards' halftime subs seemed like a masterstroke, and Jørgen Strand Larsen and Rodrigo Gomes were absolute game-changers 
. Edwards' halftime subs really turned the game around for them. That VAR decision was a bummer though, Mosquera's handball should've been a clear penalty 
️. Still, it's not like City were dominant or anything, but they got the win and that's what matters 
semenyo's 3rd goal in 4 matches is insane, needs to be celebrated 