Wolves pulled off a masterclass to hold Premier League champions Manchester City thanks to a goal from Willy Boly and a pinch of luck.
The newly promoted outfit showed incredible diligence and remained resolute throughout the match to keep the mighty Citizens at bay. Their work-ethic paid off in the second half when defender Willy Boly handed the hosts a lead.
Although the defending champions did hit back through a goal from Aymeric Laporte, the Wolves defence stood resolute to snatch two points from the PL giants.
Here are the Wolves players rated from their impressive performance against the Sky Blues:
Rui Patricio (9/10): One of the most impressive Wolves players on the pitch, Rui Patricio made a few stunning saves to keep his side in the contest. His save to deny Raheem Sterling in the first half was one of the best so far this season.
Overall, the Portuguese international made five saves though he could very little to deny Laporte from heading the equaliser in the second half.
Ryan Bennett (7.5/10): A diligent effort at the back from the 28-year-old defender. He did seem a little tentative on the ball but managed to get away with it.
Conor Coady (7.5/10): Did well to marshal the defence, though one can accuse him of not being consistent enough with his ball-playing qualities. His rash tackle on Sergio Aguero got him a yellow card but it was his dogged defensive traits that mattered against the mighty attack of Manchester City.
Willy Boly (9.5/10): By far the best Wolves player on the day, Willy Boly was a real leader at the back, attaining a pass accuracy of 88% – a far more impressive tally when compared to his defensive partners Coady (45%) and Bennett (60%). But most importantly, he made a host of important tackles inside his half, including a last-man tackle just around the half-hour mark.
Matt Doherty (7.5/10): Given the amount of defensive work he was forced to do, the 26-year-old defensive deserves credit for putting in such an impressive performance. Had to deal with City’s threat on the wide areas and he put in a tenacious display.
Joao Moutinho (8.5/10): The Portuguese international mustered two key passes. He helped ease the pressure at times with his impeccable distribution from midfield.
Ruben Neves (7.5/10): Neves did a good job defensively and was a key figure in Wolves’ pressing game. He also made one key pass and attempted four of his team’s eleven shots on goal.
Jonny (7/10): Surprisingly, looked calm against quality opponents, amassing a pass accuracy of 100% – only one of three players to achieve that figure in the game. But, the Portuguese was ineffective in the attacking third and had a fairly quiet game overall.
Helder Costa (7/10): Was a vital cog in the Wolves attack in the first half as he caused trouble to the Man City defence with his pace. Benjamin Mendy, in particular, looked all over the place against Costa.
Diogo Jota (7/10): Had a great opportunity to score late in the game when Adama Traore set him up perfectly. Aside from that, Jota wasn’t really an issue for the Man City defence but it’s rather evident that the Portuguese ace definitely has the potential to trouble teams in the Premier League.
Raul Jimenez (7/10): Had a goal ruled out due to offside in the second half and looked quite tentative overall. However, the Mexican attacker showed good positional sense.
Substitutes
Adama Traore (8/10): Despite a brief cameo, Adama showed what he’s capable of when he replaced Helder Costa in the 72nd minute. The former Barcelona starlet completed two dribbles and created a couple of great goal-scoring opportunities for his team. What’s more compelling is the fact that the new signing is not fully fit just yet and thus, Wolves fans could expect a lot more.
Ruben Vinagre (NA): Replaced a tiring Jonny with just five minutes left on the clock.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored
