Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola couldn’t hide his delight after watching his team dismantle Wolves 4-0 at Molineux on the opening day of the Premier League, SoftFootball reports.
City started the season like a house on fire. Erling Haaland was clinical with a brace, while new signings Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Aït-Nouri, James Trafford, and Rayan Cherki all made their Premier League debuts, and none of them disappointed. Reijnders was the star of the show, becoming the first City player since Sergio Agüero in 2011 to score and assist on his debut.
Cherki also got on the scoresheet after coming on in the second half, Trafford kept a clean sheet, and Aït-Nouri looked solid in his return to his former club.
The game exploded just after the half-hour mark. Rico Lewis whipped in a perfect cross, and Haaland was there to tap it home at the back post. Moments later, Reijnders made his mark, finishing a slick through ball from Oscar Bobb with his “weaker” left foot, but it looked anything but weak to the watching fans.
Haaland then wrapped up the first-half scoring with a dazzling one-two involving Reijnders and Bobb, firing past Jose Sa to make it 3-0.
The second half saw Rayan Cherki, the young playmaker, come on and didn’t waste any time, making his impact in the game. He capped off the scoring, giving the Wolves goalkeeper no chance and putting the seal on a thoroughly dominant performance.
Speaking via the club’s media, Guardiola praised the team and reflected on the first game of the season. In his words:
“[I’m pleased with the] result and the first half. The second half we were away from where we want to be but it’s normal for the first game.
“We trained a lot and just played two games – not much. But I liked many things and the second half Wolves were a bit better.
“We punished them on transitions because we have incredible pace with Oscar [Bobb], Tijjani and Erling [Haaland].
“It’s a weapon that we want to use this season to attack quicker than we did before but for the first game it’s always a little bit how will be the team. It is always a struggle here. I’m really pleased for that.”
When asked about how he felt about the business Manchester City has done this summer, he said:
“The club always made good signings, I never found a player that is not good. If you are playing in the Premier League it is because you are good.
“How you become better is how you connect with your teammates and the ideas. My job is to make the players connected but all of them are really good.
“Ait-Nouri knows the Premier League and Rayan [Cherki] is good but Tijji gives us something that we have missed with incredible pace to the box.
“The talent for Cherki is unbelievable in small spaces, the creativity is extraordinary and in certain games we will need him.”
With a win like this, City have set the tone for the season. a blen of Experience, youthful energy through the firepower of Haaland, Reijnders, and Cherki make them a team that looks ready to challenge on all fronts.
Next up, City will look to carry this momentum into their second Premier League match, aiming to build on a performance that Guardiola and fans will remember for a long time
