Wolves 0 Manchester City 3:WHATEVER THE rights and wrongs of Manchester City's decision to sack Mark Hughes, Roberto Mancini has managed to win as many Premier League games in three days as his predecessor did in his final 12 weeks.
This victory was not quite as routine as the scoreline suggests, with Wolves proving to be belligerent opponents until the final 15 minutes, but Mancini, whose decision to replace Robinho with Craig Bellamy was vindicated, will cherish another three points.
Bellamy made City’s first goal for Carlos Tevez, who also went on to score the visitors’ third, taking his tally to eight in his last seven matches. In between those two moments, substitute Javier Garrido added City’s crucial second goal with a wonderful free-kick that deflated Wolves and ended any hopes Mick McCarthy had of gleaning some reward for their efforts.
City departed celebrating their first away win in four months.
This had looked like being an uncomfortable evening for City long before the temperature started to plummet, with the arrival of the world’s richest club guaranteed to galvanise opposition players and supporters alike. Wolves duly responded to the din reverberating around Molineux, with McCarthy’s players tearing into City and enjoying the better of the opening 25 minutes.
Yet their failure to turn pressure and possession into the hard currency of goals was to prove costly.
City had given warning of their threat on the counter-attack moments before their breakthrough, when Bellamy volleyed over from inside the six-yard box after the indefatigable Tevez had picked George Elokobi’s pocket. Mancini stood with his head bowed, but seconds later the Italian was celebrating. Tevez was the scorer, although it was impossible to ignore the part played by the effervescent Bellamy, whose electric pace was too much for Jody Craddock.
Martin Petrov’s slide-rule pass down the left channel released the Welshman whose adroit stepover left Craddock in his wake. He then showed composure to set himself before picking out Tevez about 12 yards from goal. Christophe Berra sought to close down the City forward but succeeded only in deflecting his low shot beyond the stranded Marcus Hahnemann. The match was 33 minutes old and it was City’s first attempt on goal.
Until then Wolves had unnerved City, with Karl Henry epitomising the spirit of the home side. Time and again the Wolves captain snapped at the heels of the City midfield, breaking up play but also using the ball intelligently.
The inclusion of Chris Iwelumo, one of five changes to the Wolves side, was also discomforting the visitors’ backline, his aerial threat creating a decent early opportunity for Andrew Surman who wastefully drilled over.
With City susceptible on set-pieces and Wolves carrying plenty of height, it was no surprise the home side targeted free-kicks and corners as their best chance to penetrate. One of those corner kicks, shortly before the interval, should have yielded an equaliser but Elokobi’s far-post header was cleared off the line by, of all people, Tevez.
The home side produced their best move of the match when Kevin Doyle and Surman combined to prise an opening for Iwelumo. The Scotland international’s eyes lit up as he prepared to shoot on the edge of the area but Kolo Toure, playing his last game before Africa’s Cup of Nations, threw his body across to deflect the ball over.
City, however, killed the game in the 69th minute. Bellamy had clearly run offside but Jody Craddock’s decision to head the ball rather than let it run meant that Mick Jones, the referee, waved play on. Moments later Gareth Barry was fouled on the edge of the area and, with Hahnemann leaving a space at his near post, Garrido accepted the invitation and curled home.
Tevez, firing a left-footed shot into the bottom corner in the 86th minute, added the coup de grace.
WOLVERHAMPTON: Hahnemann, Zubar, Craddock, Berra (Stearman 46), Elokobi, Foley (Jarvis 79), Henry, Mancienne, Surman, Iwelumo, Doyle (Ebanks-Blake 73). Subs not used: Hennessey, Milijas, Maierhofer, Castillo. Booked: Foley, Mancienne, Hahnemann.
MANCHESTER CITY: Given, Zabaleta, Toure, Kompany, Richards, Petrov (Robinho 85), Ireland (Garrido 55), De Jong, Barry, Bellamy, Tevez (Sylvinho 90). Subs not used: Taylor, Vidal, Boyata, Weiss. Booked: Zabaleta, Tevez.
Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire).
