'A guy you can rely on' - Guehi makes instant impact at Man City

Manchester City will face tougher tests than Wolverhampton Wanderers but a win vital for their Premier League title chances offered a first glimpse of what Marc Guehi will bring to his new side.

The centre-back’s calm head, composure on the ball and assured passing combined to bring a serenity to Man City’s defence that has been missing since the injuries to first-choice centre-back pairing Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias.

Watch: The best of Guehi's debut

There are few centre-backs in the world who read the game like Guehi or are so positionally precise that they are barely required to make a tackle.

It all helped deliver a first clean sheet in four Premier League games for Man City and move them within four points of league leaders Arsenal. The Gunners have a game in hand, against Manchester United on Sunday, but it was a result that applied a little more pressure in the title race.

Guehi arrives with some considerable pressure of his own. Not only is the 25-year-old seen as a long-term signing, he is expected to hit the ground running and provide the defensive stability to give Man City any hope of chasing down Arsenal.

“He’s not come for six months; he’s come for many years,” Pep Guardiola told Man City’s official website. “It was an opportunity for the price.

“He’s the perfect age and he’s the perfect signing for many, many years.

“He’s a guy you can rely on. I see it in two sessions. How he sees, how he moves, how he talks, how he reads the situations.”

Guehi's impressive Man City debut

Guehi almost got off to a dream start, leaping high at the back post to beat everyone to a corner, only to see his header saved by Jose Sa, the Wolves goalkeeper.

The first real problem of his afternoon was posed by Hwang Hee-chan, the Wolves forward hustling and hassling Guehi when a hopeful ball was played over the top. But the Man City defender dealt with it well, playing a simple, unflustered pass back to his goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Guehi’s immediate impact and influence was clear in how involved he was in Man City’s control of the game and attacking build-up. His 102 passes were bettered only by team-mate Rodri, who made 103. And Guehi touched the ball 112 times – again only Rodri had more touches, with 116.

Watch: Man City can 'rely on' Guehi, says Guardiola

They were the only two players to reach triple figures for either statistic.

Guehi misplaced only seven of his 102 passes (93 per cent success rate), made two interceptions and two blocks in as solid an afternoon as a defender can have.

"It was OK from my part, I have got a lot of learning to do to get up to speed," Guehi told the BBC's Match of the Day. "There's a lot of details and positioning and certain things but it has been really exciting.

"There's a good mentality about the group, important that the focus is on the next game, making sure we get the win. We need the mentality and the intensity within the side and hopefully we will keep that going."

Watch: Guehi's first post-match interview as a Man City player

The result will have provided relief for Guardiola at the end of a brutal week in which they lost back-to-back matches, first against rivals Man Utd, then a shock UEFA Champions League defeat against Bodo/Glimt in Norway, for which the Man City players refunded fans’ tickets.

Though it was Guehi's debut, much of the spotlight shone on the Man City bench where Erling Haaland sat. Guardiola's decision to name Haaland on the bench took many by surprise.

In Haaland's absence, however, Omar Marmoush opened the scoring with a well-taken strike and Antoine Semenyo, playing his first home league game since moving from Bournemouth, showed the threat City can have without the Norway striker in the side.

Not only did Semenyo score with a smart touch before placing the ball beyond the goalkeeper, he rattled the crossbar, making space with a couple of stepovers and unleashing a shot from just inside the box.

The signing adds an astonishing depth to Guardiola’s attack when their star striker, who has scored 39 goals in 37 games this season for club and country, needs a break. 

Haaland, who came on in the 73rd minute, has now not scored in five games and netted only once in nine – a rare barren spell that suggests even he needs a rest occasionally.

There will, nonetheless, remain some traces of concern for Guardiola, who watched his side allow Wolves back into the game in the second half, during which they threatened several times and came close to scoring.

A similar dip will likely be punished in the run of fixtures ahead.

After a midweek Champions League game against Galatasaray, Man City face a challenging first week in February playing away to Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in the league either side of the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final against Newcastle United.

Having Guehi in the defence makes a difficult period, that could prove pivotal for their title chances, that little bit easier.