After a preseason that was abnormally short and one that was filled with a long list of injuries, Manchester City FC didn’t take long to get down to business against Wolverhampton on Monday night. It was early into the first half when they scored their first goal, and as they say, the rest was history.

Man City is hoping to win the championship this year, and if their performance against the Wolverhampton did anything, it put Liverpool on notice that they have stiff competition this season. Manchester has two back-to-back wins to their belt and it was clear that Pep Guardiola applied pressure on his squad not to make mistakes.

After the match, Kevin De Bruyne, who together with Phil Foden scored the opening goal, commented to the media stating: “We know if the pace is the same as the last three years, it will be a hard job and we want to fight against them. We make each other better and for me, that is what sport is all about.”

Manchester Still Recovering from Lyons Loss

Manchester is still reliving its embarrassing loss last month to Lyon during the quarterfinals in the Champions League. Since its loss, Man City has seen three of its top players contracting the coronavirus: Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte.

Since their diagnosis, the only one from the three to return was Riyad Mahrez, yet he remained on the bench as a substitute. However, Mahrez was not called upon, even though Man City saw three of its squad being inured: Eric Garcia, Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero.

Even with the injuries and absence of three due to the virus, Man City stepped up and dominated the opening half and held on in the second to earn back-to-back wins. De Bruyne, who last season was bestowed England’s player of the year last, was instrumental in City’s success. After being taken down by Romain Saiss inside the Wolves area, De Bruyne was awarded a penalty kick that he easily converted. He also was responsible for setting up Man City’s second goal after passing the ball to Foden.

The Wolves managed to get on the board, but it wasn’t until the 78th minute, and far too late to make any headway. Their goal came after Raul Jimenez scored to make it 2-1, but moments later, Gabriel Jesus sent the ball past the post with a perfectly timed and directed header.

Pep Guardiola said post-match that “The period that we are in and the situation that we had in these last two weeks, I expect that in some moments we suffer, but in general we controlled the game.” Man City is next due to meet Bournemouth is the third round on Thursday before heading to Leicester on Sunday for a mid-day game.