Molineux played host to an emotional afternoon as Wolves faced Manchester City in their opening Premier League fixture of the season. The occasion was marked by a heartfelt tribute to Diogo Jota, with supporters uniting to remember the former Wolves forward before kick-off. With Manchester City in town, the game promised to be an early test of Wolves’ resilience, energy, and attacking intent under Vítor Pereira.
Wolves 0 Manchester City 4
First Half
An emotional afternoon at Molineux began with a moving tribute to the late Diogo Jota, as fans and players alike paid their respects before kickoff. Spurred on by the atmosphere, Wolves started brightly, not allowing City time on the ball.
Despite that energy, Wolves struggled to turn that industry into meaningful attacking moments. The hosts' best opportunity came in the 20th minute when Marshall Munetsi broke the line but mistimed his run and found himself offside. Just three minutes later, João Gomes had a golden opportunity in the Man City box, but couldn't bring the ball under control.
Opening day defeat.
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 16, 2025
🐺⏱️ pic.twitter.com/lolXpHbweF
Munetsi thought he had broken the deadlock soon after as he finished from close range, but again the flag went up, as he was caught out by the linesman four times, highlighting Wolves' lack of precision in the final third.
City, by contrast, were ruthlessly clinical. With their first shot on target in the 34th minute, Erling Haaland calmly finished a pass from Rico Lewis to silence the home crowd. Just three minutes later, Wolves' afternoon worsened when Emmanuel Agbadou's sloppy pass gifted Oscar Bobb the ball. The City youngster intercepted, slipped the ball to Tijjani Reijnders, and the Dutchman neatly finished.
At the interval, the statistics told the story; City had just two shots and led 2-0, enjoying 69% of the possession. Wolves worked hard, winning more tackles (nine to City's five), but with no shots on target and key errors punished, they faced an uphill battle in the second half.
Second Half
The second half resumed at Molineux with Wolves showing early initiative. In the 46th minute, Strand Larsen came close when he struck a low effort wide, a promising opening that hinted at a momentum shift. Moments later, a collision with former teammate Rayan Aït-Nouri forced Strand Larsen off temporarily for treatment, slightly disrupting Wolves' rhythm.
Despite a spirited start, Wolves couldn't translate their energy into sustained attacking fluency. The breakthrough instead came for City in the 61st minute, when a slick move culminated in Haaland firing home his second after a clever one-two with Reijnders.
Feelings of desperation crept into the Wolves' performance. A yellow card was shown to Matt Doherty in the 67th minute, hinting at growing frustrations and a lack of composure in midfield.
Wolves briefly rallied after a quadruple change and had a flurry of chances (Rodrigo Gomes, Hugo Bueno, Arias, and López entering the fray). Despite the fresh legs and an energetic spell, none of the opportunities found the back of the net.
City sealed the win in the 81st minute when Premier League debutant Rayan Cherki calmly rounded the night off with a composed finish, capping off the evening for the visitors. Wolves then replaced Strand Larsen with Hwang Hee-chan, who didn't offer much to the attack.
Player Ratings
José Sá - 5
Ki-Jana Hoever – 6
Matt Doherty - 5
Emmanuel Agbadou - 4
Toti Gomes - 5
David Møller Wolfe - 6
André - 7
João Gomes - 6
Marshall Munetsi - 4
Jean Ricner-Bellegarde - 5
Jørgen Strand Larsen - 5
Subs - Hugo Bueno - 6 Jhon Arias - 6 Fer López - 6 Rodrigo Gomes - 5 Hwang Hee-chan - N/A
Wolves showed fight and organisation and caused City problems at times, but their lack of creativity and precision in attack proved costly. City were ruthless, with Haaland, Reijnders and Cherki highlighting the gulf in quality. For Vítor Pereira, the challenge is now turning effort into end product as Wolves need to add quality to the squad before the transfer window closes.
