PEP GUARDIOLA SAID before kick-off that he would stop being a manager once he stopped loving the work he does.
The manner of this utterly manic 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers might just infuse the Manchester City manager with enough verve to keep going for a decade longer than he ever imagined.
There was chaos and there was vitriol in the stands as the home fans saw a precious point taken away from them.
Of course VAR was at the centre of it all.
John Stones powered a bullet header beyond Jose Sa in the 95th minute only for the assistant to flag for an offside on Bernardo Silva in the six-yard box.
But once referee Chris Kavanagh was sent to the screen and correctly overruled the decision – Silva ducked and was behind the last defender but he was not impacting on Sa’s line of sight or ability to make a save.
Guardiola was on the pitch declaring it a goal. The City players watched the screen 10 yards behind Kavanagh and when he awarded the goal they erupted in joy.
Wolves were fuming, another defeat and only off the bottom of the table because Southampton have scored fewer goals.
This was a thrilling and tense end to a game that looked to be tapering off.
City might not like to lump it but they don’t mind a long-range cracker.
Josko Gvaridol scored their seventh goal of this Premier League season from outside of the box to cancel out Jorgen Strand Larsen’s opener for Wolves after seven minutes.
But rather than act as a catalyst for a comprehensive victory, Guardiola’s side toiled and stuttered against a dogged opponent that have yet to taste a victory. The late goal was a killer.
With Arsenal losing yesterday and Liverpool facing Chelsea later this afternoon, City had a chance to go top and enjoy the rest of their Sunday evening before that result alters things.
They eventually took it.
The Wolves goal was their gameplan distilled and delivered to perfection. For the first seven minutes they were in a low block and happy to defend on their 18-yard box.
They kept the spaces between them to a minimum and the midfield was also compact in front.
Then, out of nothing, a goal. They moved the ball between themselves at the back, Craig Dawson passing across to Santiago Bueno who then stepped inside before realising the amount of space down the right for Nelson Semedo.
At this point, just across the halfway line, the eventual scorer Strand Larsen was a few yards in front of Rico Lewis and just off the shoulder of right-sided centre back John Stones.
He was on the blindside and the City defender never seemed to be fully aware of the striker’s movement.
Turned out he didn’t have to do anything special, just carry on his run and be grateful for Semedo’s decision to whip the ball in early.
The timing of the delivery was crucial and the execution perfect. It didn’t allow Lewis enough time to cover and it meant Larsen could simply continue his stride behind Stones, allow the ball come across him slightly and then open his body for a side-foot finish with his left foot from about 12 yards.
Easy as you like, but not when you haven’t won a game all season.
The ease with which Wolves picked City apart was an example of other sporadic moments of vulnerability this season. They’ve fallen behind to Ipswich Town and Brentford at home already this season and conceded twice to Fulham in a 3-2 win.
All of those games resulted in victories, of course, and when Gvardiol pinged an equaliser on 33 minutes they made their dominance count.
City had been parked in Wolves’ half and got into some dangerous areas, especially down the left where three pull backs were cleared from danger with Haaland lurking.
For the leveller, Jeremy Doku didn’t take on Semedo and opted for a simple pass back to the Croatia international in support.
What followed was far from simple. Gvardiol’S technique with his sweeping effort was stunning. Jose Sa dived and got a firm hand to the ball, but he could only direct it to the top corner.
Semedo was having a tough time on that side, although he did make a run from deep after fine link up play between Strand Larsen and Matheus Cunha to force a save from Ederson.
And so the game continued in the same pattern as before. City owned the ball and all the play but couldn’t fashion any kind of opportunity for Haaland.
Sa was forced into a low save to his left when captain Ruben Dias struck from distance and it was telling that by the 70th minute of the game two City defenders caused the biggest threat from well outside the box.
Cunha, who was excellent at offering some relief by travelling with the ball or simply picking a pass, offered a reminder of the threat on the counter with a run from just inside City’s half that ended with him fizzing a shot just wide.
Savinho then blazed City’s best chance of the second half over the bar when he ventured in from the left to meet a cross, only to blaze over the bar with a wild swing of his weaker left foot.
He had forced a half decent save from Sa earlier in the first half with a low shot and his reaction then said a lot, turning away and wailing in distress when there was still more than an hour to go.
On this occasion there was no major reaction – except for his manager to hook him and bring on Jack Grealish.
Doku had been the first to go for Phil Foden on 66 minutes but what followed was a repeat of the first-half.
City passed and passed and passed, but Wolves stood firm until the very end when they were knocked to their knees by Stones.
