The Etihad witnessed notable milestones on Saturday, with Ederson's 100th clean sheet for City adding to Sterling's 100th Premier League goal.
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Manchester City recorded a crucial 1-0 victory over a spirited 10-man Wolves side at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Raheem Sterling scored the only goal of the game – his 100th in the Premier League – as City maintained their lead at the top of the table. The England forward struck from the spot after Joao Moutinho was adjuged to have blocked Bernardo Silva’s cross with his arm. The Etihad witnessed notable milestones on Saturday, with Ederson’s 100th clean sheet for City adding to Sterling’s 100th Premier League goal. After 16 matches, City have 38 points, one more than second-placed Liverpool. Infact, the gap between Pep’s side and third-placed Chelsea are only two points.
Starting with a five at the back, Wolves did well to frustrate Manchester City, as the home side struggled to play in their usual dominant fashion for much of the opening 45 minutes. The visitors were disciplined and defended in numbers, limiting the space in which City could create chances. The tight contest suddenly sparked into life when Raul Jimenez was sent off in stoppage time at the end of the first period. He was booked twice in the space of 31 seconds – his second for stopping Rodri’s free-kick from being taken. The crazy few seconds left the visitors with an uphill task against the defending Premier League champions.
Welcome to the club, @sterling7! ?#ManCity pic.twitter.com/fmDxn192aA
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 11, 2021
The half ended with more drama before the break when Jack Grealish felt his cross was blocked by the arm of Max Kilman. However, John Moss waved away the penalty appeals. With a man advantage, City upped the pressure in the second half. Ilkay Gundogan’s header was cleared off the line by a resolute Conor Coady, while Oleksandr Zinchenko forced a decent save from Jose Sa from distance.
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At this point, Manchester City were knocking on the doors for the opener and their dominance paid off, as the breakthrough came from the spot. Joao Moutinho blocked Bernardo Silva’s cross with his arm. Following a lengthy VAR check, a penalty was given to the home side. Raheem Sterling converted calmly to score his 100th Premier League goal.
Moments later, Grealish had a great chance to make it 2-0, but his effort from close range was off target. Soon after, Bernardo’s powerful drive was saved well by the legs of Sa. The Wolves goalkeeper made another excellent save to deny Gabriel Jesus from a tight angle. Deep into stoppage time though, City goalkeeper Ederson was called into action, as he tipped over Kilaman’s header to see out the victory.
After the match, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola heaped praise on both Sterling and Ederson. “It’s a great number at his age, 100 goals is a lot,” Pep was quoted as saying by the club’s website. “Congratulations. Like the 100 clean sheets from Eddie – congratulations to both and to the team, of course.”
Providing his analysis on the team’s overall display, Guardiola said, “In general we were good. We were not so clever in the final third, some players dropped their performance and some players are coming into their best. We conceded one chance in 94 minutes. We created chances to score more but we were not clinical enough to convert them.”
