City Clinches Narrow Last-Minute Victory Over Wolverhampton

Defender John Stones scored a last-gasp goal to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory for Manchester City over hosts Wolverhampton on Sunday, in the eighth round of the English Premier League.

Norwegian Jørgen Strand Larsen opened the scoring for Wolverhampton in the 7th minute, but City responded with goals from Croatian Josko Gvardiol (33) and Stones (90+5).

City temporarily moved to the top of the table with 20 points, two points ahead of Liverpool, who will host Chelsea later and could reclaim the top spot with a win.

City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola opted to start Belgian winger Jérémy Doku and Brazilian Savinho over Englishmen Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, who both came on in the second half.

The match pitted an undefeated team against a side yet to claim a victory, with Wolverhampton sitting second to last in the standings.

Wolverhampton capitalized on a swift counterattack, as right-back Nélson Semedo crossed from the right to Larsen, who slotted the ball home at the far post (7).

Wolves nearly doubled their lead when Semedo went one-on-one with City’s Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson, who brilliantly denied his attempt (18).

City dominated possession, but their towering Norwegian striker Erling Haaland was largely isolated due to tight marking, despite having scored eight goals in four previous matches against Wolverhampton.

Gvardiol leveled the score with a curling shot from the edge of the box into the top corner (33). This was City’s seventh goal from outside the box in the league this season, compared to just six during the entire previous campaign.

City had two good chances in the first half, but Wolves’ Portuguese goalkeeper José Sá saved efforts from his countryman Bernardo Silva and Brazilian winger Savinho.

Despite City’s control in the second half, they struggled to break through Wolverhampton’s organized defense until the dying seconds of stoppage time, when Stones rose to head home from a corner (90+5).

The round concludes on Monday with Nottingham Forest facing Crystal Palace.