Manchester City defender John Stones headed a controversial stoppage-time winner in a 2-1 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday that helped them set a club record of 31 league games unbeaten.
English Premier League champions City dominated possession from start to finish at Molineux but were shocked in the seventh minute when a perfect cross from Nelson Semedo was met with a composed close-range finish by Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Semedo missed a glorious chance to put Wolves further ahead in a one-on-one that Ederson saved, before City defender Josko Gvardiol picked up the ball in space and curled a beautiful shot past Jose Sa for a deserved 33rd-minute equaliser.
Stones’s late goal from a corner went to a Video Assistant Refereee (VAR) check for a possible offside by Bernardo Silva in front of the goalkeeper, but it was allowed, to the delight of manager Pep Guardiola and the travelling fans.
“I’m really pleased to win in that fashion and get on the scoresheet again,” said Stones, who also scored a late equaliser against Arsenal last month.
“It was a tough game. I’ve got to give credit to Wolves, how they stopped us creating chances, made it difficult for us in the final third,” he added.
Bottom on one point and without a win this season, Wolves are staring at a battle against relegation unless they can start picking up wins.
Their manager Gary O’Neil was furious at the end of the game, after his team had defended valiantly against City who enjoyed three quarters of possession.
Two-horse race
Liverpool are looking more and more like City’s main title rivals after beating resurgent Chelsea 2-1 to stay on top of the Premier League table.
Liverpool produced a composed performance at Anfield to hand Chelsea their first league loss since the opening round.
Having seen third-placed Arsenal lose at Bournemouth to raise questions about the Gunners’ title hopes, Liverpool and City took full advantage to build a small gap atop the standings.
Arne Slot’s team lead on 21 points from eight games, one ahead of City and four above Arsenal.
Curtis Jones orchestrated the win for Liverpool, earning a penalty for Mohamed Salah’s first-half opener and then scoring himself to restore the host’s lead in the 51st minute, shortly after Nicolas Jackson had equalised for Chelsea.
Reuters, AP
