Manchester City fans have had their say after a dramatic late win against Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday.
City needed a 95th-minute goal from John Stones to secure all three points in a thrilling match at Molineux. After going behind early, City equalized through Josko Gvardiol before halftime and snatched victory in injury time, with VAR confirming the legitimacy of Stones’ winner.
The result keeps City second in the table, just behind Liverpool, and opens up a three-point gap over Arsenal, who suffered a shock defeat to Bournemouth. Here’s how some City fans reacted to the game, as shared in the Manchester Evening News’ player ratings section.
mancityboy: “This squad is past its best. Lewis shows promise in midfield but is possibly the worst full-back in the league. Stones is strong in midfield but no longer as solid defensively. Gundogan and Kovacic looked like they were ready for retirement. Doku’s final ball is terrible—he needs to look up. We need to rethink things because the team is getting worse every season.
“Besides Gvardiol, our defenders are too slow to play such a high line. We’re still a top Premier League team, but we’re barely holding onto that. It’s time to rebuild with younger players and get players back to their natural positions.”
RichardMorris: “Sometimes, you have to win ugly, which we did today. The slow build-up against a team like Wolves is frustrating. I’d love to see the center-backs move the ball quicker instead of inching up to the halfway line and passing sideways. Doku lost the ball countless times, and Gundogan is a shadow of the player who left.
“The three-man defense isn’t working, especially with Lewis out of position when Wolves scored—he just jogged back! Bringing on Foden only to play him wide when we needed him in the box was baffling. Still, we won, and our defenders got both goals.”
burtnick: “I think the low rating for Haaland is unfair. He had nothing to feed off. We dug in and got the win, but it’s clear the squad is aging and needs fresh legs. There’s talk of new signings in the summer, but we need at least 4 or 5 players. Txiki was too confident this summer, assuming we had enough depth.
“We should’ve bought a CDM regardless of Gundogan, a full-back, and another attacker. Now, we need a full-back, a quick center-back (I’d go for Van de Ven), a CDM, a De Bruyne replacement, another attacking option, and probably a winger. This squad needs major surgery!”
jumbolee54: “Doku and Haaland deserved better ratings—they both should have gotten a 6 at least. Haaland was man-marked the entire game and couldn’t be as effective. Plus, Gundogan wasn’t passing to him at all! Overall, we found a way to win a tough match, and that’s what champions do.”
