Man City win big, but the worries remain unchanged

18/08/2025 16:17:00 SportScoop

The 4-0 win over Wolverhampton on the Premier League’s opening day at Molineux felt like Man City had rediscovered their top form.

However, just over a month ago, The Citizens also began the FIFA Club World Cup strongly, until Al Hilal brought Pep Guardiola’s team back to the all-too-familiar image of last season’s disappointments.

New faces…

It’s unusual that this season, there’s little talk about the Spanish manager’s tactical brilliance. Not many people are discussing or envisioning how Man City will continue their dominance in England.

But if you look at what happened in the first 20 minutes of the match, it’s clear why Man City are no longer the center of attention. Of course, this is quite different from how the Blues finished the game with a convincing victory.

During their Premier League dominance, The Citizens’ main strengths were their ability to control possession, set the attacking rhythm, defend against counters, recover the ball quickly, disrupt opponents’ defensive systems, create opportunities, and finish with a goal.

In summary, it was a highly dangerous style with very few weaknesses to exploit and extremely hard to stop. All those qualities disappeared last season and are showing up differently again in the first match of the new campaign, mainly because the stars of that golden era have either left, like Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Grealish, or are injured, like Rodri.

It’s been two years since the historic treble under Pep Guardiola, and only four players from the starting lineup on that legendary night in Istanbul—John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, and Erling Haaland—started against Wolves.

Youngsters Oscar Bobb, Rico Lewis, and goalkeeper James Trafford earned starting spots, but another academy graduate, Phil Foden, was in the stands due to injury. Summer arrivals like Ait Nouri and Reijnders brought genuine change to the lineup, but with players like Nico and Doku, things still seem unchanged.

Man City won, but they are still a long way from returning to their peak

… and the same old weaknesses persist

Different players signal a new era, but The Citizens are struggling to regain their former greatness. Their attacking combinations are predictable and often broken up easily.

Wolves’ early counterattacks mostly started from misplaced passes and poor team shape by Man City. The home side exploited gaps in City’s defense and created dangerous opportunities. Wolves didn’t capitalize, more due to lack of quality than bad luck. But other opponents may be as sharp as Al Hilal when facing The Citizens.

It’s clear Pep Guardiola’s team needs rebuilding, but standards have dropped and this will affect the season’s outcome. This win is a good start and boosts confidence, but it’s not built on a strong foundation, as the core values have been eroded over time.

Wolves exposed the Blues’ flaws but failed to punish them. Man City must fix these issues as soon as possible. At the same time, they need to improve their current style of play with players like Reijnders or Cherki. They did well against Wolves, but not in a way that matches the system the team has used for years.

This sense of excitement may be as fragile as what Savinho brought at the start of last season. The Brazilian striker was impressive, but never reached the level City expected, as he was often inaccurate in key moments or quickly became isolated under pressure.

Nico Gonzalez has repeatedly shown himself to be more of a liability than an asset since last season, often being out of position and unable to control the tempo for a team like Man City.

Past achievements are difficult to repeat, and the win over Wolves only shows that The Citizens are trying to repair last season’s damage rather than acting as a squad capable of winning the title.

Thien Y

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