Tijjani Reijnders starred and Rayan Cherki scored a beauty as the debutants helped Man City make a winning start to the Premier League season, beating Wolves 4-0 at Molineux.
Dutchman Reijnders was crowned Serie A midfielder of the year before joining City in a £46.3m switch from AC Milan this summer and immediately demonstrated his class on his first Premier League appearance, as Pep Guardiola’s side showed they are up for the title fight.
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Erling Haaland taps home Rico Lewis’ cross into an empty net to give Manchester City lead at Wolves!
There was neat footwork from Reijnders before a wonderful, lofted pass for Rico Lewis to tee up Erling Haaland for a simple opener on 34 minutes. He then followed that up moments later with a brilliant finish himself, arrowing the ball into the far corner with a first-time shot with his weaker left foot.
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Tijjani Reijnders opens his Premier League account for Manchester City at Wolves!
Reijnders wasn’t done there, recording an assist in the second half when a crisp finish by Haaland put City out of sight.
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Erling Haaland steers home Tijjani Reijnders through ball to score Man City’s third at Wolves!
If City are entering a new post-Kevin De Bruyne era, 27-year-old Reijnders looks like he could now be the talisman in the middle. “They’ve got a new hero,” said Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp.
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Rayan Cherki fires from 20 yards to score Man City’s fourth at Wolves
They may have another one in Cherki, too. The No 10 – a £34m buy from Lyon – fired into the bottom corner from the edge of the box with nine minutes to play to wrap up the win and send out a warning message to City’s title rivals.
City look like title contenders once again – but there’s worry for Wolves
This was a result and performance which will build confidence in the City camp, following their poor 2024/25 campaign. With Phil Foden and Rodri to come back into the squad, the signs are Guardiola’s refreshed, next-phase City will be back in the Premier League race. The home game with Tottenham next Saturday should reveal more.
Wolves will certainly hope this is not an indicator of what’s to come.
Marshall Munetsi had the ball in the net when he headed home from an offside position when the game was goalless and Jorgen Strand Larsen hit the side-netting early in the second half but they were missing Matheus Cunha’s threat in attack, following his sale to Man Utd, and exploited by City at the other end.
Vitor Pereira – who made a quadruple substitution with 19 minutes to play – will hope a chastening opening day defeat doesn’t leave a lasting impact on his squad who have been predicted to struggle this season.
More to follow…
