Man City 2-1 Wolves (Oct 20, 2024) Match analysis

Manchester City defender John Stones scored a controversial injury-time winner in a 2-1 win at Wolves on Sunday, setting a club record of 31 league games unbeaten.

Champions City dominated possession from start to finish at Molineux but suffered a shock in the seventh minute when Wolves striker Jørgen Strand Larsen parried away a superb cross from Nélson Semedo with a confident finish from close range.

Semedo missed a great chance in a one-on-one to put Wolves further ahead, which Ederson parried before City defender Josko Gvardiol picked up the ball in space and fired a lovely shot past José Sá for a deserved equalizer in the 33rd minute shot.

The Stones' late goal from a corner was checked by VAR for a possible offside position by Bernardo Silva in front of the goalkeeper, but it was allowed to the delight of their manager Pep Guardiola and the traveling fans.

“I'm really pleased to win in this way and get back on the scoresheet,” said Stones, who also scored the late equalizer against Arsenal last month.

“It was a tough game. I have to give credit to Wolves because they stopped us from creating chances and made things difficult for us in the final third,” he added.

City sit at the top of the league on goal difference with 20 points, two points ahead of Liverpool, who face Chelsea later on Sunday, and could reclaim the top spot with a win.

With Wolves sitting bottom of the table by one point and without a win this season, they face a battle against relegation unless they can pick up wins.

Their manager Gary O'Neil was furious at the end of the game after his team defended bravely against City, who had most of the ball.

Referee Chris Kavanagh initially disallowed Stone's goal as he believed Silva had blocked goalkeeper Sa's line of sight, but the VAR concluded this was not the case. When Kavanagh saw footage from the side of the pitch, he overturned the decision, prompting boos from the home fans.