Premier League: Landmark Sterling goal helps City sink 10-man Wolves

Raheem Sterling joined elite company with his 100th Premier League goal in Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers – who had striker Raul Jimenez sent off for two yellow card offences within seconds – at the Etihad on Saturday.  

Sterling calmly converted a controversial penalty, just the second in his century of top-flight goals, after VAR ruled Joao Moutinho’s block of Bernardo Silva’s attempted cross a handball offence.  

This came
after a lackluster first half came to life in injury time, when Jimenez
received his marching orders for two bookable offences. Tensions had built up
with the home crowd not happy with Wolves players’ apparent time-wasting and theatrics,
particularly by defender Romain Saiss – who went down in his own penalty area
after claiming to be poked in the eye by Sterling.

Jimenez’s
first yellow card came after he stuck out a leg to bring down City midfielder Rodri.
Seconds later, the Mexican blocked Rodri’s attempted free-kick, with referee Jon
Moss instantly blowing the whistle to enter Jimenez’s name in the book once
again.

The decision
made the task all the more monumental for Wolves, who were limited to damage
limitation in the second half. That objective was somewhat achieved, as the final
scoreline was not an apt reflection of the balance of play.

City had 24
shots compared to three from the Midlands club, who had goalkeeper Jose Sa
making a string of excellent saves. Defender Conor Coady made a goal-line
clearance from an Ilkay Gundogan effort, while Phil Foden also had a goal-bound
effot blocked.

The only
disappointment for Pep Guardiola’s side was Jack Grealish, who is yet to come
into his own since the £100 move from Aston Villa. A below-average performance
was made all the more miserable as Grealish failed to convert a Sterling cross
with the goal at his mercy.