Kevin De Bruyne was the hero as Manchester City climbed to third in the Premier League with a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, whose six-game winning run came to an end.
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De Bruyne scored what could be his final goal at the Etihad Stadium in the 35th minute, in his penultimate home game before leaving the club.
His calm finish came somewhat against the run of play as Vitor Pereira's revitalised visitors gave a good account of themselves, with Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunha hitting the woodwork in either half.
But Wolves' threat faded as the second half went on and they stay 13th in the table following their first defeat since February.
City, meanwhile, sit two points clear of Newcastle United and four ahead of Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, with all of those teams in action between Saturday and Monday.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +35 | 74 |
| 3 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +28 | 71 |
| 4 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
38 | +21 | 69 |
| 5 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
38 | +21 | 66 |
| 6 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +7 | 66 |
| 7 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
38 | +12 | 65 |
How the match unfolded
Wolves made the more confident start and could have gone ahead in the 22nd minute. Cunha's pass sent Jean Ricner-Bellegarde racing through, but he overhit a simple ball towards Marshall Munetsi, who was waiting for a tap-in.
The visitors carved out another glorious opening five minutes later, but Ait-Nouri's first shot bounced off the far post and his follow-up was scrambled off the line by Josko Gvardiol.
Nico O'Reilly forced a fingertip save from Jose Sa as City woke from their slumber, and they inched ahead 10 minutes before half-time, Jeremy Doku finding De Bruyne for an easy side-footed finish.
City still did not look entirely comfortable, though, and Cunha almost produced a stunning equaliser when he rattled a post from the edge of the box in the 56th minute.
Munetsi then lost his footing at the vital moment after an intelligent header from Cunha, while an Ait-Nouri challenge on Bernardo Silva was checked and cleared by the VAR for a potential red card.
But Wolves could not create another chance to level, with City holding firm for a fourth straight Premier League win.
De Bruyne's parting gift?
Pep Guardiola insisted that salvaging UEFA Champions League qualification and winning the FA Cup would not make City's campaign any less disappointing, but things were looking up ahead of this game.
A run of three straight Premier League victories meant a top-five finish was in their hands, even more so after Forest, who City vanquished in the FA Cup semi-finals, lost to Brentford on Thursday.
That momentum did not carry into Friday's game, though, with City struggling to match Wolves' physicality and tenacity during the opening 30 minutes.
Far from the well-oiled machine that won four straight titles, City have relied on moments of individual quality this season, and it was a similar story here as De Bruyne made a trademark run into the area for his goal.
It could be the last time City's fans get to see De Bruyne celebrate at the Etihad, with only one home game – against AFC Bournemouth on 20 May – remaining before he departs.
De Bruyne's moment of quality proved enough to push City towards Champions League qualification, and he was given a standing ovation when withdrawn late on.
With a trip to Southampton next before the FA Cup final, there was another positive for City, with Erling Haaland returning to the squad after injury.
Nothing for Wolves to toast
When Wolves welcomed City to Molineux for the reverse fixture in October, a stoppage-time header from John Stones condemned them to a fifth straight Premier League defeat and left them bottom with a single point after eight games.
They entered Friday's rematch as close to City as they were to 17th-placed Ipswich Town in terms of points, enjoying their best Premier League winning streak ever.
They started with a swagger befitting their status as the league's form team but failed to score, Bellegarde overcooking a square pass for Munetsi, before a combination of post and Gvardiol denied Ait-Nouri.
Perhaps they were overconfident in the build-up to De Bruyne's goal, with the otherwise excellent Andre surrendering possession to Silva. Three passes later, they were behind.
Haaland was not the only Norway striker to not appear on Friday, and as the second half wore on, Wolves missed the imposing figure of Jorgen Strand Larsen, who was absent with a knock.
Pereira has made a habit of appearing in local pubs to celebrate Wolves' recent wins, with "first the points, then the pints" becoming something of a catchphrase. While there were no points for him to toast today, he will have been encouraged by their display.
Club reports
Man City report | Wolves report
What the managers said
Pep Guardiola: "If you analyse the result we have improved but analyse the performance and there is still a long way to come. In the first 20 minutes, they were much, much better than us and they had the chances. We were fortunate. We were not what we want to be but we know what we are playing for. It is what it is."
Vitor Pereira: "In the end, that's football. I am very proud of my team. I said that we can lose a game, but we can't lose our identity, our courage, our ambition, our commitment and our team spirit. Today we showed all of that in our team. We were just missing the result."
Remaining PL fixtures
Key facts
Man City have won four consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since their 13-match winning run between April and September 2024.
Wolves have lost nine of their last 10 away Premier League games against Man City, the exception coming in a 2-0 win in October 2019.
Man City’s De Bruyne has had a hand in 11 goals in 10 Premier League appearances against Wolves (six goals, five assists), the joint most by any player in Premier League history (Mohamed Salah also has six goals and five assists against them).
Doku has completed 101 dribbles in the Premier League this season, becoming the first Man City player to complete 100+ dribbles in a campaign since Shaun Wright-Phillips in 2004/05 (119).