MATCH REPORT AND PLAYER RATINGS - WOLVES 2-1 MANCHESTER CITY

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Manchester City's perfect record in the Premier League was ended by Wolverhampton Wanderers, who eventually ran out as deserved winners, despite only having one shot on target.

In a performance unlike anything we've seen so far from City this season, City looked toothless up front and shaky in defence for large parts of the game. They were fairly secure with their passing for the majority of the game, but too many passes were played safe.

Wolves took the lead with their first attack of the game, as Pedro Neto, who had a magnificent game on the right wing, motored past the struggling Nathan Ake and saw his cut back into the box deflect off Ruben Dias and ripple the back of the net.

City dealt with this goal reasonably well, moving the ball around in good positions and standing strong at the back. However, Wolves were successful in all of their 1 vs 1 duels, and stood strong at the back, meaning City struggled to create any chances at all.

Pep Guardiola, who was suspended for the game after picking up his 3rd yellow card of the season, made a big substitution at halftime, as he replaced new signing Matheus Nunes with 20 year old Oscar Bobb, who has only featured briefly in two Premier League matches before.

It was in fact Bobb who featured heavily in City's goal, as he was felled just outside the box on the left hand side. Julian Alvarez stepped up to score his second direct free kick of the season, as he whipped his effort past Jose Sa in the top left corner to draw the Blues level.

Compared to their reaction after the first goal, however, City's response to drawing level was poor. They continued passing the ball around safely before trying to force a chance that wasn't on, leaving Erling Haaland frustrated and isolated up front.

As seemed inevitable, Wolves hit City with another fast break down their right hand side, and after a scramble in the penalty area, Hwang Hee-Chan poked the ball into the net from inside the six yard box to restore the home side's lead.

From this point, Wolves packed the midfield and the box with numbers, meaning the only space for City was out wide. However, the players in the wide positions were wasteful with the chances they had, meaning in the end, Gary O'Neil's side eased to the finish line.

After this disappointing performance, the Blues now have to face 2 tough away games, RB Leipzig in the Champions League and then Arsenal away on Sunday, in their toughest Premier League match of the season to date.

Rodri will be available for Leipzig, and whilst he remains suspended for Arsenal, hopefully that blow can be softened by the return to fitness of Bernardo Silva and John Stones for that fixture.

In my opinion, City will be looking for two wins out of two in both games, and whilst it'll be a difficult task, it'll be one that the squad, with the elite mentality they have, will embrace fully.

Here are the player ratings for our first Premier League defeat of the season:

Ederson - 6.5/10 - Couldn't have done anything about either goal. Beaten by a wicked deflection for the first goal, and left stranded for the second. No issues with his distribution from the back.

Walker - 6.5/10 - One of City's better outfield performers. Decent in possession, and kept Hwang locked down. Very unfortunate to not block the ball on the line for Hwang's goal.

Akanji - 6.5/10 - Not a lot to complain about with Akanji's performance. The Swiss international was decent in possession, and looked reasonably solid against the dangerous Matheus Cunha.

Dias - 6/10 - Not to blame for the own goal; he was in the right position, and there was very little he could do to stop it from going in. However, he was too willing to take the easy option with his passes, and wasn't quite his usual solid, impenetrable self.

Ake - 5/10 - Unfortunately, Ake was absolutely rinsed by Pedro Neto on numerous occasions throughout the game. The 28 year old seemed unable to cope with the trickery, directness and, most of all, pace of the Portuguese winger, which saw the whole team suffer.

Kovacic - 5/10 - Deputising for Rodri, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Kovacic, who played by far his worst game so far for City. The 29 year old was robbed in possession much more often than usual, and was the worst culprit in trying to force chances, by playing numerous passes through the lines towards Haaland that were cut out by Wolves defenders.

Alvarez - 7/10 - Scored an excellent freekick, and looked more dynamic than any of City's other midfield/forward players. Still, he was quiet by his usual standards, and overall struggled to fully influence the game.

Nunes - 6/10 - In his first game back at Wolves since he forced a move away from Molineux in the summer, Nunes was given a toxic reception from the home crowd. He was hooked at half time, as Guardiola wanted a player better in tight spaces in Bobb, after not really influencing the game in his time on the pitch.

Foden - 6/10 - Like all of City's attackers, Foden hardly had a sniff of the ball in forward areas. He put in a few good set piece deliveries, but didn't create anything at all from open play.

Haaland - 5.5/10 - Extremely quiet all game. Craig Dawson did admittedly do an excellent job defending against him, but there just didn't seem to be any space for the 23 year old or any of his teammates.

Doku - 5.5/10 - After an encouraging first few games in a sky blue shirt, Doku showed that he isn't yet the full package. He got into good positions more than any other City attacker, and beat his man a few times, but his end product and decisions making was extremely poor, particularly late in the game when City were looking for an equaliser.

Substitutes:

Bobb - 6/10 - In what was, on the face of it, a bizarre choice to bring Bobb on at half time, his technical ability in tight areas did briefly help City get a foothold back in the game, However, I believe he was wasted in central areas, and it'd have been beneficial to have him isolated out on the right hand side, to create space for himself and others.

Phillips - 6/10 - Like Dias, Phillips was too safe with his passes, which meant there'd be no way for City to progress the ball meaningfully. Unless Bernardo is ruled unfit, I'd be very surprised if Phillips touches the pitch against Arsenal.

Grealish - 6/10 - Had a few decent touches out wide, but hardly had the time or opportunity to influence the game positively for City.