The beauty of promotion and relegation was in full view for all to see on Saturday, as Wolverhampton hosted Manchester City to open Matchday 3 of the Premier League.
The Molineux Stadium was rocking with the highest attendance drawn by Wolves for over 30 years, and the fans didn’t leave disappointed, despite facing the might of the English champions.
The home side seemed intent on showing the entire world exactly how they won the EFL title by the length of the straight last season; amassing 99 points in the process.
If that was their objective, it was well and truly achieved and potentially surpassed, with a bold showing and a 1-1 draw that had City manager Pep Guardiola fidgety and irritated on the sidelines.
Wolves were prepared to allow City the lions’ share of possession in the first half; intent to counter with speed and purpose when given the opportunity. It was an approach that worked wonders, as City knocked the ball around with 70 per cent possession and the home side countered effectively.
But for a couple of close offside decisions against Wolves, a two goal lead was not beyond the realms of possibility.
City fans may also have claimed misfortune after a thumping Sergio Aguero strike rattled the timber and Wolves goal keeper Rui Patricio produced a stunning save to deny Raheem Sterling’s powerful strike from outside the area.
Patricio moved at full stretch, high to his top left corner and brushed the ball onto the bar. It was one of those saves in which the keeper almost appears to have parried to ball from behind the line, so late was the contact.
It was scoreless at the break, despite multiple chances for both teams and Wolves would surely have begun to feel galvanised.
Journeying into unchartered waters and facing the cream of the crop early in the season was proving less disastrous for Wolverhampton than many other promoted teams in recent times.
The longer the game went, the more Wolves looked like a team starting to believe that the Premier League is where they belong.
Unfortunately, the match grew into a controversial affair with Wolves taking the lead in the 57th minute from what looked like a Willy Boly header into the bottom corner of Ederson’s goal.
In replay, it was clear to all that Boly had used his arm to guide the ball into the net and may also have been offside after a subtle touch from a fellow Wolves attacker.
It was a double-barreled error from the officials.
Ederson appeared aware of the discrepancy in goal, however, it was a difficult one to pick up for the on field officials considering their positioning at the time. The VAR system used at the World Cup in Russia would have reviewed the play briskly and overturned the goal well before the restart of play.
Without technology closely monitoring and being skillfully implemented in such moments, the risk of deflated, frustrated fans and the potential to destroy excellent contests with poor decisions, will continue.
It was not to be a prolonged lead as Aymeric Laporte headed home 12 minutes later and City proceeded to bombard the Wolves’ goal for the final 20 minutes of the match.
Two disputable penalty shouts had the visitors aggrieved yet Wolverhampton were to hang on for a meritorious point. The brightness they showed in attack against City should be more than enough to have them well clear of the drop come seasons end.
(Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Arsenal grabbed its first win of the season against the hapless Hammers who remain bottom. It was a comprehensive win for the Gunners and one that gets their season rolling after a tough start.
Leicester City grabbed its second win of the season with an injury time goal to Harry Maguire that sank the hopes of a ten man Southampton. The 2-1 win sees Leicester off to a solid start and Southampton still winless.
Bournemouth and Everton both lost a man in a thrilling 2-2 draw that kept Bournemouth flying high on the back of two previous wins, whilst both Huddersfield and Cardiff appeared happy with a point after a 0-0 draw at John Smith’s Stadium.
Mohamed Salah proved the talisman again as Liverpool took top spot with a hard fought 1-0 win over Brighton late Saturday before Sunday’s action saw Watford continue its excellent start to the season with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
In other matches, a late own goal gave Chelsea a nail biting 2-1 win at St James’ Park against Newcastle and Fulham jumped off the bottom with a statistical and score line domination of Burnley, to the tune of 4-2.
Week four throws up some important matches, with a number of teams in the bottom half facing each other and looking for some early season distance from the bottom three. Crystal Palace vs Southampton and Brighton vs Fulham look particularly interesting clashes.
Chelsea vs Bournemouth contains much intrigue at the other end of the table, with Eddie Howe’s team sitting fifth and looking to jump the Blues with a win.
Manchester United have survived one of the most astonishing FA Cup semi-final comebacks to beat second-tier Coventry City 4-2 on penalties after a chaotic…
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has slammed the FA Cup scheduling after watching his side beat Chelsea 1-0 to reach the final, three days…
With a certain inevitability, Manchester City are suddenly in charge of the Premier League title race. Arsenal and Liverpool both produced lethargic performances under…
Ten goals flew in across the opening two quarterfinals of the Champions League as honours ended all square in Madrid and London. An incredible…
Over to you, Liverpool. Arsenal and Manchester City have done their bit in the latest chapter of the English Premier League's tight title race,…
Arsenal have launched a pivotal month in their pursuit of silverware by returning to the top of the Premier League table thanks to a…
