Wolves were thrashed 5-1 by Manchester City yesterday in the Premier League – but Pep Guardiola sees positive signs about the team as he singled out a couple of players after the game.
Wanderers fell well short against City at the Etihad, as the hosts continued their push for a fourth straight Premier League title.
It was always going to be a tall order for Wolves to get something from the game. City at the Etihad is arguably the toughest fixture in the Premier League for any club these days.
Wolves need to be absolutely on it, and have that little bit of luck.
Wanderers ended up having no answer to Erling Haaland, who scored four goals for City.
Wolves got a bit unlucky with the opening goal with Rayan Ait-Nouri‘s challenge on Josko Gvardiol. But there was no way Gary O’Neil‘s side deserved anything from the game.
But despite the heavy defeat, there was praise for Wolves at the end from Pep Guardiola…
Pep Guardiola sees potential in Wolves as he picks out two stars with ‘a lot of quality’
There was some optimism ahead of this game from some Wolves fans, because the club have had success on this ground in recent seasons.
Wolves also had some important players back in the team, although they were still missing Craig Dawson and Pedro Neto.
But City quickly ended in any hopes of a result for Wolves, with Haaland just unplayable at times. He hit a first-half hat-trick, and then he grabbed a wonderful fourth immediately after Hwang pulled one back for the visitors.
Hwang took his goal very well after Ederson fumbled a cross from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde. He took his tally to 12 Premier League goals for the season with the effort, and after the game, the South Korean was one of two players picked out by City boss Pep Guardiola, who sees potential in Wolves.
He said (via BBC Sport): “I would say a better result than the performance, we lost a lot of simple balls in the first half. We created a lot of chances, we have to score more and Wolves have a really good base with Cunha, Hwang and they have a lot of quality there and the physicality that they have. But a good result happy for them.”
Pep is right
Wolves are indeed sitting on two really solid players in Hwang and Cunha, and the team should be tailored towards them next season.
They both bring pace, energy, physicality and a goal threat, and the duo are also really effective on the counter.
Yesterday’s game was very difficult for them with City in total control for most of the game. But going forward, Hwang and Cunha will be extremely important players for O’Neil, as they already have been this campaign.
The manager has shown that he likes speedy, attacking football, and Hwang and Cunha will likely be central to his plans next term. He just needs to sign a few more attacking players who can complement them.