Erl made of PEP’S BLUES’
THE WRITING was on the wall after 53 seconds.
At the end of 90 minutes, the letters were sky blue and 10 feet tall.
And they read that whatever is taking place among the elite elsewhere, that Manchester City will still be the team to beat this season.
This hasn’t been a perfect start by Pep Guardiola & Co but it’s been far better than any of their nearest rivals.
And a strangely comfortable afternoon in the Black Country only reinforced the growing feeling that while everyone else is struggling to find their feet, rebuild or readjust, the Etihad juggernaut is set on cruise control.
The final destination? Well, that doesn’t need spelling out but by leapfrogging Arsenal to go back on top of the table, the first clump of games in this Premier League campaign have been negotiated with less drama than by their title rivals.
And that was certainly the case at Molineux, where any inflamed passions were doused within the opening minute when Jack Grealish poked home the opener.
They were given another soaking when Erling Haaland added a second just after the quarter-hour and extinguished altogether when Wolves defender Nathan Collins was dismissed 12 minutes before the interval.
A third for Phil Foden after a spirited response then condemned the 10 men in old gold shirts to a final quarter of ball-chasing, while Guardiola indulged himself by bringing on an array of talent that must have left Wolves boss Bruno Lage drooling with envy.
The outcome wasn’t harsh on the hosts in the slightest. If you are going to set up your side to have an open game of football against the kind of opponents they were facing, then you have to bring your ‘A’ game to the table.
If Lage had prepared his side to stop the champs, then he didn’t do a very good job.
City dominated possession from the kick-off and worked an opening down the right when Foden backheeled to Kevin De Bruyne who had created an overlap.
The Belgian international whipped over a low cross, Haaland made a diversionary run, and Grealish popped up ahead of his marker for a textbook finish and set the stage for what was to follow
– from both teams.
Wolves showed flashes but a neat triangle involving Grealish, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva ended with the latter setting Haaland off with the ball at his feet 35 yards out.
Max Kilman made the job easier for him than it should have been by backing away from the Norwegian.
And the folly of that tactic was exposed when Haaland’s rightfoot shot – with which he didn’t connect cleanly – still had the direction to flummox Jose Sa and extend the visitors’ lead.
Grealish was causing untold problems with his close control and Collins paid for a moment of inexperience that ended the game as a contest.
The £100million man always appeared likely to be the winner as he attempted to chest down a bouncing ball and set off once more down the left.
However, he was stopped in his tracks by Wolves’ £20m summer signing whose tackle caught the England international just below the rib cage. It was one of the season’s more obvious dismissals.
This sparked a response from Wolves who are crying out for a natural goalscorer to finish off neat approach work. But it was all huff and puff with no end product.
All that remained was for Haaland and De Bruyne to combine again and Foden backheeled the third to cap a thoroughly satisfying afternoon in the autumnal sunshine for the visitors.