Manchester City off to winning start with victory at Wolves
WOLVERHAMPTON ( Reuters) – Manchester City got its Premier League campaign off to a flying start with a 3- 1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers thanks to first- half goals by Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden plus a late Gabriel Jesus strike late Monday.
The result means there has not been a single drawn match in the opening two rounds of Premier League fixtures and the 44 goals over a single ‘ game week' is a record for the 20- team era.
Wolves beat City home and away last season, but Pep Guardiola's side was full value for the victory despite a strong response from the home side after it went 2- 0 down.
Guardiola gave a debut to close- season signing Nathan Ake, the Dutch defender signed from Bournemouth, lining up alongside John Stones in the center of defense.
While City was given a rest in the first week of the season, due to its August involvement in the Champions League, it was sharp out of the blocks, quickly finding its rhythm.
“It's obviously hard. It's a weird season. We know we need to start well,” said De Bruyne.
“Wolves have been a bit of a bogey team for us in the last few seasons. So it's encouraging to play well,” he said.
PFA Player of the Year, De Bruyne put City in front with a penalty in the 20th minute. The Belgian broke into the box and was brought down by Romain
Saiss before getting up to convert the spot- kick himself.
City's trademark passing game was at its very best for the second goal just past the half- hour, Foden ending a fine move with a clinical finish from a low Raheem Sterling cross.
Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio did well to keep out a De Bruyne effort as City threatened to put the game out of reach before the break, but it was a different story after the interval.
Wolves' Daniel Podence broke goalwards, but his attempted chip went over the bar and Raul Jimenez was then picked out by a low cross from Adama Traore but the Mexican side- footed wide from inside the box.
The home side finally gained some reward in the 78th minute when Jimenez headed home a Podence cross, but in stoppage time Jesus made sure of the win for the visitors with a shot which deflected off Conor Coady.
Wolves manager Nuno Espirito
Santo highlighted his team's failure to take chances.
“We always have to give credit to our opponents because of the talent and the quality they have, but we should do better,” he said.
Bleak winter ahead for British sport as fans kept out of stadiums
Meanwhile, British sport faces a bleak winter, and for some a fight for survival in the months ahead, after the postponement of plans to allow a limited number of fans back into stadiums from October.
What had been seen as a glimmer of light at the end of a tunnel now looks like another long stretch of darkness for clubs and sports already in crisis- management after being forced to do without their ticketing income stream.
The government had planned to allow 25- 33% capacities from October 1, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that was being postponed as part of measures to tackle a second wave of COVID- 19.
More than 100 sports bodies – including from tennis, cricket, rugby and the Premier League – had called on Monday for emergency funding in the light of the expected development . They warned also of “a lost generation of activity.”
The Premier League said its members suffered 700 million pounds ($ 895.09 million) of losses last season and the sport was losing more than 100 million a month with a ‘ devastating' impact on clubs and communities.
While the top tier enjoys lucrative television deals, the financial picture for those whose business models rely heavily on gate receipts remains stark, with some warning of collapse.
Still, the prospect of thousands of people traveling to venues, even if well separated inside, jars with a message to avoid social mingling.
The UK has the biggest official COVID- 19 death toll in Europe, with close to 42,000 victims.