Manchester City secured a first Premier League win in four games, beating Wolves 2-0 at Molineux. The victory handed Wolves a first defeat in six and was marked by a rare VAR handball incident that saw referee Farai Hallam, on his top-flight debut, stick with his original decision not to award a penalty after being sent to the pitchside monitor.
The disputed moment came when Abdukodir Khusanov's pass was controlled by Omar Marmoush, who flicked the ball onto Yerson Mosquera's left elbow. Despite Mosquera's arm being away from his body, Hallam deemed it a natural running position. Pep Guardiola was incensed, reiterating his belief that City face unfair officiating and pointing to his 11 injured players as a mitigating factor. He also cited Diogo Dalot's stamp on Jérémy Doku in the previous loss to Manchester United as another poor decision.
Wolves boss Rob Edwards defended the call, stating Mosquera's arm was in a natural position and the distance was close. 'Fair play to Farai in his first game to make that call,' Edwards said.
Guardiola dropped Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, with Marmoush and Bernardo Silva replacing them. City took the lead when Matheus Nunes crossed for Marmoush to stab home, and doubled their advantage through Antoine Semenyo after Silva slipped him through. Semenyo's goal was his third in four league matches since joining from Bournemouth.
Wolves improved after half-time, with substitute Jørgen Strand Larsen and a reshuffled Mateus Mané causing problems. João Gomes forced a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but City held firm for the clean sheet.
Wolves remain 14 points from safety, but Edwards' mid-season appointment appears to be steadying the ship.
