Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-5 Manchester City: 5 talking points as Kevin De Bruyne leads Sky Blues closer to the title | Premier League 2021-22
Manchester City took a huge step towards the 2021-22 Premier League title with a 5-1 thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux on Wednesday, May 11. Star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne led the way for the visitors with a sensational four-goal performance, which included a quickfire first-half hat-trick.
Raheem Sterling added another goal in the 84th minute to wrap up the one-sided affair. Belgian midfielder Leander Dendoncker had briefly given the hosts some hope after canceling out De Bruyne's opener in the 11th minute.
1-5 
#ManCity
FULL TIME | We hope you enjoyed the show! 🍿
🐺 1-5 ⚪️ #ManCity https://t.co/ok9lOb9Ef9
Coming off a 5-0 demolition of Newcastle United last weekend, Pep Guardiola's City side picked up right where they left off. Wolves, who were missing the presence of manager Bruno Lage on the touchline due to COVID-19, were completely torn apart by the defending champions.
Many expected a close contest, especially since the previous meeting between the two sides was a very tight affair that ended in a narrow 1-0 Manchester City win. But the visitors were all over Wolves on Wednesday, enjoying 67% possession and registering 15 attempts. Interestingly, all of City's shots on target found the back of the net.
FT | #WOL 1-5 #MCI
It's all over at Molineux. #WOLMCI
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In comparison, the hosts could only muster seven attempts, of which just three were on target. The result took the Cityzens back to the top of the Premier League table with just two games left to play. Guardiola's side are on 89 points from 36 games, three ahead of Liverpool in second place. Meanwhile, Wolves remain eighth with 50 points to their name.
On that note, here are five talking points from a vintage Manchester City performance at Molineux.
#5 Kevin De Bruyne offers a devastating reminder of his quality
The first-half was all about one man - Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian recently faced criticism after an uncharacteristically subdued performance in Manchester City's 3-1 collapse in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals against Real Madrid.
However, the talismanic midfielder was at his blistering best against Wolves, scoring a hat-trick within 17 minutes. It was the second hat-trick of his career (the last one came in 2011) and his first in English football.
…and here’s the @ErlingHaaland first celebration by Kevin de Bruyne. New teammate is coming. 🧘🏼♂️ #MCFC https://t.co/QeozCzI8bf
While all his goals were wonderful in their execution, the third strike was the pick of the lot. De Bruyne created something out of nothing and thundered in a belter from outside the box, with his weaker left foot no less.
De Bruyne added a fourth in the 60th minute to put the result beyond any doubt. He has now scored 15 league goals this season to go with seven assists.
#4 Manchester City show signs of defensive frailty
Coming into this game, John Stones, Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker were already ruled out for the remainder of the campaign. Guardiola was forced to start the 37-year-old Fernandinho as a makeshift centre-back.
The Brazilian, along with left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, seemed vulnerable to Wolves' rapid counterattacks. Their lack of pace was exposed by Raul Jimenez and Pedro Neto, who set up Dendoncker's early equalizer.
City clean sheet gone.
Fernandinho was all over the place on that counter.
It will be interesting to see how City's backline fares in their next Premier League fixture against seventh-placed West Ham United. David Moyes' side have several pacy wingers in their squad and are more than capable of hitting the Cityzens on the break.
#3 Pep Guardiola's centre-back crisis goes from bad to worse
Already without the aforementioned Stones and Dias, Guardiola's side were rocked by another injury blow in the second-half against Wolves.
Aymeric Laporte went down clutching his knee after a heavy collision with Jimenez. Although the Spain international tried to play through the pain, he could not continue and was substituted 15 minutes after the restart.
A big injury concern for City as Aymeric Laporte goes down after falling awkwardly and seems to have hurt his knee #mcfc #WOLMCI
manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football… https://t.co/fHIW6YsGFw
City are now down to one centre-back, Nathan Ake, who isn't the tallest or quickest player around. To make matters worse, the former Bournemouth man wasn't completely fit either and was reportedly nursing an ankle issue ahead of the game against Wolves (as per Sports Illustrated).
West Ham, who are chasing Europa League qualification, will fancy their chances against an ailing backline when they welcome Guardiola's men to London on May 15.
#4 Despite flashes of potential, Wolves' attack continues to underwhelm
"Lots of good work with little to show for it" has been the story of Wolves' season. While they were undoubtedly terrible at the back against City, the hosts did manage to get into some excellent positions going forward, especially out wide on the flanks. Yet again, they failed to fashion clear-cut chances.
Wolves have now scored 36 league goals this season. It is the fourth-lowest record in the entire division (only ahead of Burnley, Watford and Norwich City). Two of the three teams with lower goal tallies have already been relegated.
Their consistent lack of cutting edge in attack makes it all the more surprising that Wolves are in the running for a top-seven finish.
#1 Manchester City's healthy goal difference receives another welcome boost
The Sky Blues have now scored ten goals in their last two league fixtures. As a result, their goal difference (+72 with 94 goals scored), is significantly better than that of second-placed Liverpool (+65).
Manchester City's goal difference is 71 higher than Manchester United's 🤯 https://t.co/qtY3bYf4bg
This may just prove to be the difference between the two sides come the end of the campaign, especially if City drop points at seventh-placed West Ham.
There is a chance that the Reds can finish the season level on points with Manchester City. In that case, the Sky Blues' superior goal difference would see them retain their Premier League crown.