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Kevin De Bruyne’s goal was enough for City to see off Wolves and continue their fine form - Danehouse/James Gill
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Pep Guardiola used the unlikely source of Neil Warnock as inspiration for this victory, with the manager he calls a “legend in English football” invited to help prepare Manchester City for a clash decided by Kevin De Bruyne’s goal.
The City manager talked about needing a break from the game when he eventually finishes at the Etihad Stadium, and Warnock knows everything about longevity, with 1,960 games under his belt.
“Just when I’m out, they pull me back in,” to borrow a phrase that could be used for those in the addictive, adrenalin-fuelled world of management. New challenges and goals are part of staying in the game and Guardiola could still secure a remarkable second-placed finish in the Premier League.
De Bruyne’s 35th minute goal meant City have won five games in a row and are in their best form of the season, and just three points behind an Arsenal team with a Champions League semi-final occupying their thoughts. Mikel Arteta’s team have a game in hand but there is a degree of scoreboard pressure in play.
It was Jose Mourinho who described his runners-up position at Manchester United as one of his greatest achievements, given the dysfunction at Old Trafford. City overtaking Arsenal would be stunning, even if the season is still remembered for a dramatic collapse from Guardiola’s all-conquering players.
10:09 PM BST
Kevin De Bruyne speaks to Sky Sports
09:56 PM BST
City climb to third
09:53 PM BST
Full time: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Hwang breaks and runs into the City box. Gvardiol makes the tackle at the price of a corner. Up goes Sa but City win the first header and the referee blows for full time.
09:52 PM BST
90+4 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Guardiola wants more security. His attempts at flagless semaphore are bamboozling. His arms are rolling, pointing, fingers splayed as he shouts.
Nico González → Kovacic.
09:51 PM BST
90+2 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Wolves free-kick five yards inside their own half after a foul on Sarabia. Wolves send eight me forward and Pep frantically waves his arms, stepping on to the pitch to ensure his players are switched on. The initial lofted long ball is headed away and Guedes drives down the right to flash a cross through the six-yard box. Guardiola nearly lays an egg, but Akanji and Dias get it away.
09:47 PM BST
90 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Jamie Carragher names Kevin De Bruyne as his man of the match. Five minutes of stoppage time to come.
09:46 PM BST
88 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Firm, well-timed tackle by Kovacic stops Sarabia darting into the box. The Croatia midfielder is having the best spell of his City career right now.
09:45 PM BST
86 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Final Wolves changes:
Bueno → Semedo
Hwang → Cunha.
Lewis dribbles up the righm driving past Ait-Nouri and then cuts a pass back to Foden to the right of the penalty spot but Agbadou and Toti squeeze him off the ball. They make a very promising partnership.
09:42 PM BST
83 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Triple change:
McAtee → Marmoush
Foden → De Bruyne
Lewis → Gundogan.
Seven Nation Army pays tribute to KDB as he departs. Wolves fans pipe up with ‘Oh Vitor Pereira’.
09:41 PM BST
81 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Akanji scrambles a Sarabia pass, arrowing towards Gudes, away after Munetsi dispossessed Bernardo and made a thrusting run up the inside-right.
09:38 PM BST
79 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Wolves are going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the quest for an equaliser:
Goncalo Guedes → Andre.
Almost 3-3-1-3 now.
09:35 PM BST
77 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Gvardiol and Cunha collide after Gvardiol slips and for a moment it looks like Cunha has twanged his hamstring. But after a quick stretch, he’s right as rain.
VAR says Ait-Nouro ‘accidentally’ caught Bernardo and with ‘no force’.
09:32 PM BST
75 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Fortunately Bernardo is OK after treatment.
09:32 PM BST
No red card
The VAR deems it as a natural movement. Jamie Carragher doesn’t agree and says he thinks Ait-Nouri almost braced his leg to protect himself and was reckless.
09:31 PM BST
VAR check for dangerous play by Ait-Nouri
He plants his studs into Bernardo’s ankle when his foot rolled over the ball.
09:30 PM BST
72 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Wolves’ scouting has been excellent this year. Joao Gomes, Andre, Agbadou and Munetsi are all big hits.
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‘It’s not you, it’s me’ Guardiola consoles O’Reilly after substituting him early in the second half - Stu Forster/Getty Images
09:27 PM BST
70 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Excellent City move instigated by Gvardiol’s angled pass that sent Doku in behind Rodrigo Gomes. The winger lays it off to his compatriot De Bruyne but Joao Gomes snaps into the tackle, pushing him backwards so he turns and works it over to the right where Marmoush steps in off the wing to line up a left-foot shot from the right of the D and wellies it over. His shooting has been poor so far tonight.
09:25 PM BST
68 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Doku is double-teamed by Rodrigo Gomes and Semedo. Doku gets the better of him the first time but when that attack breaks down with Toti’s headed clearance, Rodrigo Gomes wins the next duel.
09:23 PM BST
66 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
De Bruyne injects some urgency at the other end to tackle Ait-Nouri as Wolves’ much-coveted left-back threatened to whip a cross into the box.
Rodrigo Gomes → Doherty
Sarabia → Bellegarde.
09:21 PM BST
64 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Sa claims the cross comfortably.
09:20 PM BST
62 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Long spell of City possession, shifting the ball from right to left and back again and then De Bruyne injects some urgency by accelerating down the right to swing over a cross that is turned behind for a corner.
09:18 PM BST
59 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Munetsi falls in the box when trying to latch on to a ricocheting ball under pressure from Gvardiol. The defender did touch him but it wasn’t foul play, just a natural bump. Or that’s what it looked like.
09:16 PM BST
58 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
O’Reilly, who gave the ball away before Cunha’s shot, is hooked.
O’Reilly → Akanji.
09:16 PM BST
56 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Cunha generates a thunderbolt from his right foot smacking a shot into the left post from the right of the D after a lovely first touch with his chest. Very little backlift too.
09:13 PM BST
54 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
The crowd boos because Wolves don’t give City the ball back but Bernardo had lost it before the referee blew. So Wolves then give it back. ‘What on earth...?’ splutters Jamie Carragher. Exactly. It was their ball all the way.
09:11 PM BST
52 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Marmoush is down wide on the right holding his right ankle after Toti tackled him and inadvertently landed on his ankle as the Egypt forward hit the ground. City could have put the ball out but carried on the attack so Wolves are vexed by the referee’s decision to halt the game as soon as they had won the ball back.
09:08 PM BST
50 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
The bounce of the ball when Gvardiol and Nunes make a mess of Sa’s hoof up the middle almost let Munetsi through on goal but he doesn’t have the pace to get away from them and bear down on Ederson.
09:06 PM BST
48 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Doku faces up Semedo and then slips it on to his left to bomb to the byline but Doherty helped out his captain with a tracking run.
09:04 PM BST
46 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Munetsi takes Dias’ hand in his face as the two went up for a header. Dias won the duel and City will restart after the game was stopped because it was deemed a head injury.
08:52 PM BST
Half-time: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Vitor Pereira cannot claim Wolves have shown City too much respect, the reason he said they had played so poorly at Anfield for 45 minutes. They have been slick and enterprising, carving out two excellent chances for Bellegarde and Munetsi and Ait-Nouri. But Bellegarde clumped a pass that should have been stroked and the left wing-back contrived to use his left when a right-foot finish was the better option. City have probed and kept rolling forward against a resolute defence... until they cracked it open with a crisp tacke, Gundogan’s run through the lines and Doku picking out De Bruyne.
08:48 PM BST
45+1 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Doku has had a lot of the ball and this time he shifts it quickly inside after speeding past Doherty but O’Reilly, on the underlap, is stopped and the ref blows his whistle to end the half.
08:46 PM BST
44 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Sa’s alertness saves the day for Wolves again when O’Reilly ghosted down the inside-left. The keeper was mustard quick to dart off his line and bundle the ball away from danger.
08:44 PM BST
42 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Now De Bruyne hounds Bellegarde out on the left forcing a throw-in after City’s attack had been smothered by six Wolves players on the left of the penalty are when Doku tried to dribble his way through the crowd.
08:42 PM BST
40 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
De Bruyne is taking his captaincy duties seriously, now running back to halfway to stop a Wolves break with a Fernandinho-style foul.
08:41 PM BST
38 min: Man City 1 Wolves 0
Vitor Pereira is yelling at Cunha to stop dropping so deep. Sa comes out to stop De Bruyne’s centre reaching Marmoush.
08:35 PM BST
GOAL!
Man City 1 Wolves 0 (De Bruyne) In his penultimate match as a City player at the Etihad he slots a right-foot shot from 12 yards past Sa. Dias won a tackle on halfway and Gundogan pounced on to possession and dribbled down the inside left before rolling it to Doku on the outside. He skips inside, picks up his head and, even though he seems to stumble, manages to stab it back to De Bruyne to finish.
Kevin De Bruyne strikes for Manchester City in his penultimate match at the Etihad!️ pic.twitter.com/QsnjKKLxzN
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 2, 2025
08:35 PM BST
31 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
City are starting to build some consistent pressure now with Doku on one wing. Marmoush on the other and De Bruyne floating. O’Reilly steals in on the left of the box and drives a rising shot over the bar. Toti is winning a lot of headers.
08:31 PM BST
28 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
City corner on the left. They take it short and give it back to De Bruyne to whip in with his right. Wolves clear to the right and Bernardo’s effort from the edge of the box is blocked. Wolves are defending well and look dangerous down both wings with City’s defensive line pushed as high as Tottenham’s at times.
08:29 PM BST
26 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
Another chance for Wolves when Ait-Nouri drives a left-foot shot on to the right post. Bellegarde’s pass sent Cunha charging down the inside-left and he dribbled into the box then almost tripped on the ball which fortuitously left it in Ait-Nouri’s pass. If he had a right foot he trsuted he would have buried that. But using his left took it away from goal and into the post.
08:25 PM BST
24 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
(Old) Golden chance from Wolves as Cunha wins the ball in midfield and spears a pass out to Bellegarde. He beats the offside trap and hares towards the box. Ederson comes out and Bellegarde squares it to Munetsi. Or that was the plan but he overhit it and the new signing couldn’t reach it with a desperate lunge. An open goal...
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08:23 PM BST
21 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
Marmoush thumps a right-foot half-volley from the right of the D over the bar when Agbadou slips while heading away De Bruyne’s cross.
08:22 PM BST
20 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
Andre chips the ball out to the right and then races to the edge of the box to fire a shot over the bar when the return comes in.
08:20 PM BST
18 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
Most football fans hate Friday night football. And City fans have voted with their feet tonight as well as continuing to campaign against ticket price rises and the means of distribution.
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Friday Night football is a massive inconvenience - Carl Recine/Getty Images
08:18 PM BST
16 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
Lovely bit of swazz from Bellegarde when he diddles Bernardo with an L-shaped flick with the sole of his boot, dragging it to Ait-Nouri who is brought down by Kovacic in the middle of the park.
08:15 PM BST
14 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
Crosses have been too shallow so far by City and Nunes does the same again when De Bruyne plays a quick pass round the corner for the caretaker right-back. He whips it low between the penalty spot and the right of the D but Sa races out alertly to gather before it can reach City’s runners.
08:13 PM BST
12 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
Matheus Nunes is legged up as he tried to drive down the inside-right. Free-kick 30 yards out. De Bruyne feints to take before Bernardo delivers but Wolves are good in the air and well-organised in defence.
08:11 PM BST
10 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
Doku dribbles down the left and swings over a cross looking for Bernardo but Agbadou steals ahead of him and meets the centre with a powerful defensive header.
08:10 PM BST
8 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
Agbadou turns on De Bruyne to make some space and knocks a long ball upfield that City see out for a corner. Ederson flaps at the corner but the trajectory takes it away from goal and behind. City play the goalkick out from the back under intense pressure as Wolves co-ordinate their press. City do manage to escape and find Doku.
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The Chuckle Brothers - REUTERS/Scott Heppell
08:06 PM BST
6 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
Marmoush tracks Bellegarde all the way back to the right corner flag and grapples with him to ensure the ball trickles out for a City goal-kick when he ran out of room.
08:05 PM BST
4 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
First Wolves attack and Nunes, like Dias, snatches at a medium range effort and slices it all high, wide and hideous. Wolves are pressing City as hard as City like to press their opponents.
08:03 PM BST
2 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
Doku races down the left and is picked out by O’Reilly. Bernardo, playing centrally with Marmoush on the right, makes a run looking for a cross but instead Doku tees up Dias 25 yards out for a shot that he bends wildly wide.
08:02 PM BST
1 min: Man City 0 Wolves 0
City kick off and send the ball back to Ederson who shapes to drill it long but instead pings it to Gundogan on halfway. Both sides in their home kits as City sweep the ball back and across as they’re being pressed.
07:57 PM BST
The players are coming out of the tunnel
Hey Jude, now uniquitous, greets their entry on to the pitch.
07:48 PM BST
Fair deal?
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But what kind of sweet? Yorkshire mixture, wine gum, pear drop, rhubarb and custard, a firm yes. Humbug, Everton mint, Army and Navy, hard no.
07:29 PM BST
Vitor Pereira talks to Sky Sports
07:14 PM BST
On course for Wembley
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07:12 PM BST
Pep Guardiola speaks to Sky Sports
07:04 PM BST
And now for those of you watching in black and white
Man City Ederson; Matheus Nunes; Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gundogan, Kovacic, De Bruyne; Bernardo, Marmoush, Doku.
Substitutes Ortega, Haaland, Grealish, González, Akanji, Savio, Foden, Lewis, McAtee.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Jose Sa; Doherty, Agbadou, Toti Gomes; Nelson Semedo, Joao Gomes, Andre, Ait Nouri; Munetsi, Bellegarde; Cunha.
Substitutes Bentley, Bueno, Hwang, Rodrigo Gomes, Doyle, Sarabia, Goncalo Guedes, Djiga, Pedro Lima.
Referee Peter Bankes (Merseyside).
06:54 PM BST
Wolves team news
Bellegarde replaces Strand Larsen:
One change from #WOLLEI
Bellegarde into the starting XI
How we line-up to face @ManCity.
pic.twitter.com/8FUcFTnBcP
— Wolves (@Wolves) May 2, 2025
06:52 PM BST
City team news
Ederson replaces Ortega, Gundogan and De Bruyne come in for Lewis and Grealish while Doku starts instead of Savinho.
Haaland returns after 33 days out following his injury in the FA Cup victory over Bournemouth. .
06:43 PM BST
He’s an Asahi man
06:15 PM BST
Pereira: ‘I don’t go to the pub for the beer, I go for the Wolves fans’
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06:13 PM BST
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06:11 PM BST
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06:10 PM BST
Preview: Rasing a glass
Good evening and welcome to live coverage of Manchester City’s Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers from Etihad Stadium. For the first time in four years we can no longer use ‘Champions’ as the sportswriter’s habitual inelegant variation for City after Liverpool won the title last Sunday but while that door has closed, the race for a Champions League place is still open and victory tonight would take them up to third at least until Sunday when Newcastle play Brighton in dear old Sussex by the Sea.
Pep Guardiola’s side have won their last three in the league plus last Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final victory over Nottingham Forest and all without their most important players, Rodri and Erling Haaland who may be back in time for their final trip to Wembley this season. Their record against Wolves is rosy, having won eight of their last nine matches and Wolves have won only once away in 12 visits this century, back in 2019 when Adama Traoré scored both goals in a 2-0 victory.
But this Wolves side are on their longest winning run since their 2017-18 promotion series, extending it to six victories on the bounce with last Saturday’s 3-0 home win over poor. derelict Leicester City. Their midfield of Joao Gomes and Andre has really caught the eye and their Zimbabwean January signing, Marshall Munetsi, has acclimatised from Ligue 1 with almost contemptuous ease. Whatever Vitor Pereira is drinking on his post-victory jaunts, and it doesn’t look like Banks’s, is clearly working. Since taking over in the week before Christmas he has won 10, drawn two and lost six in the league, the same number of victories that City have achieved in that time and has propelled his team up six places from 19th to 13th.
When asked what his approach would be, Pereira pointed to their 2-1 defeat by Liverpool in February and said he hoped his side had learnt their lesson. “A good example is our game at Anfield. We must decide if we want to be the team that played the first half [after which they were 2-0 down], with too much respect, or we choose to be the team in the second half, a team with ambition, organisation and character. I prefer the second half.
“In the Liverpool game I saw two different teams, two different mentalities, the first one with a lot of respect, waiting and in the second half I watched a different game. {City] will have more possession than us. But I believe that it’s possible to compete and to create chances to score.”
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