JESUS REJOICES
Brazilian striker nets brace to defeat ten-man Wolves CHRIS WHEELER
PLAYING Manchester City at the Etihad is hard enough these days without picking up reckless red cards. Step forward Willy Boly. Actually, it was more of a lunge from the Wolves defender. An ugly follow through with his right boot into the ankle of Bernardo Silva.
There were still 70 minutes left when the Frenchman saw red and City were already a goal to the good through Gabriel Jesus.
There was only going to be one winner after that, but credit to Wolves for making a game of it. A team that held City to a draw at Molineux in August — when Boly scored with his hand — and have kept their best performances this season for the top-six clubs, did what they could to make the best of it.
But this City team are capable of dismantling 11 players, never mind ten. Jesus scored again on a subdued night to take his goal total for the season to 14 in all competitions, level with Sergio Aguero, and cut Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League to four points again.
Liverpool fans will argue that Boly’s challenge was similar to Vincent Kompany’s foul on Mo Salah, which was only punished by a yellow card when the two title contenders met here earlier this month. But the error was made back then, not last night.
Pep Guardiola had Aguero available after missing the cup wins over Rotherham and Burton through illness, but he had to be satisfied with a place on the bench beside Kevin De Bruyne.
The Belgian was not impressed to be substituted after less than an hour against Burton, disappearing swiftly down the tunnel, which brought a curt response from his manager.
‘If he has a problem, he knows where I am,’ said Guardiola before this game.
Jesus had made the most of Aguero’s absence to score five goals in two games, and the Brazilian needed less than ten minutes to add another here.
It owed much to the vision of Aymeric Laporte and his ability to thread a pass behind the Wolves defence for Leroy Sane to chase. The young German’s square ball invited Jesus to slide in and score from close range.
It was already shaping up to be a tough night for Wolves and it got even harder when they were reduced to ten men nine minutes later.
Boly took a while to leave the pitch, but there could be little dispute over the decision.
Bernardo Silva twisted away from two opponents and went into a 50-50 challenge with the French centre-back.
Boly lunged in with his right boot, winning the ball but following through with sickening force to make contact with Silva’s right ankle.
In Boly’s defence, he had only had one booking in 22 previous games this season, but it was the kind of challenge you just cannot make in the modern game and hope to stay on the pitch.
Was it worse than Kompany’s challenge on Salah? Not much, but that had no place in Craig Pawson’s thinking as he produced a straight red card.
For all City’s possession, it was Wolves who came closest to scoring next. Raul Jimenez fed Jonny, whose pass just eluded Diogo Jota’s outstretched boot.
But having recovered from a blow to the head, Jesus all but killed the game off with a second goal from the penalty spot six minutes before half-time.
Bernardo Silva created the chance with a reverse pass for Raheem Sterling and he was upended by Ryan Bennett. Jesus produced a stutter-step run-up before sending Rui Patricio the wrong way.
It wasn’t going to get any easier for Wolves, and certainly not when David Silva’s club record 267th Premier League appearance was cut short in the second half to allow De Bruyne to come on with a point to prove.
The Belgian had hammered one effort full of venom off target after Bernardo’s cross had been cleared by Conor Coady when he played a key role in City’s third goal in the 78th minute.
Patricio made a smart save to deny De Bruyne but it came at the expense of a corner. Ilkay Gundogan played it short to De Bruyne and Romain Saiss’ bid to clear only obscured Coady’s view as he turned into his own net.
Not for the first time last night, Wolves had contributed to their own downfall.