Adam Traore of Wolverhampton emerged the unlikely hero as he scored a brace which was sufficient to condemn the reigning premier league champions to a shock defeat at the Etihad stadium on Saturday.
The unfortunate match for the blues saw Pep Guardiola side record an unwanted first under his tutelage. It was the first time the usually rampant side would draw blank in a home loss under the Spanish coach.
The Blues headed into a meeting with Nuno’s side at the Etihad Stadium with high hopes of closing the gap on leaders Liverpool but ended the match with their tails between their legs while the wolves ran away triumphant.
As it stands Liverpool still maintain an eight point advantage over their blue rivals thanks to a stunning brace from Adama Traore.
Wolves kept City out for 80 minutes before staging a remarkable surge past the finishing post. Guardiola could only watch on stunned as his team suffered another untimely stumble in the defence of their English top-flight crown. He had only previously seen his side draw a Premier League blank on home soil on three previous occasions against Stoke, Manchester United and Huddersfield, however, the blues took home some points from those games.
City have now suffered a first Etihad league defeat to nil under their Catalan coach.
United were the last opponents to achieve that feat, but their derby success came towards the end of Manuel Pellegrini’s reign on the opposite side of Manchester.
Wolves boss Nuno has proved to be a serious nemesis to Guardiola’s side in recent years. The City boss boasts just one win over a Portuguese tactician calling the shots at Molineux.
Few can claim to have frustrated the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss quite so often. In fact, only Ronald Koeman and current Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp have better records.
Wolves, though, have shown since returning to the Premier League that they are more than a match for the established elite. They have shown no fear in meetings.
The blues were able to better the Reds last season, but now they face a big ask to do that again in 2019-20 after already seeing eight points slip through their grasp in eight games. Only time will tell if Pep can wield his magic wand and upstage the Reds once more.