Despite battling and fighting hard against a superior Manchester City side, three goals in the final ten minutes guided the Citizens to a comfortable 4-1 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers

A dominant first-half display saw the hosts be one goal ahead at the break thanks to an own goal by Leander Dendoncker following a teasing ball by Riyad Mahrez.

However, Wolves came out in the second half with character and resilience, eventually levelling through a Conor Coady header, his first goal for the club since April 2018.

The quakity that City possess truly showed as a brace by Gabriel Jesus and a low drive by Mahrez saw Pep Guardiola's side earn a 21st consecutive victory.

Much improved second half something for Santo to be proud of

Going into the game, the quality that Man City possess in all areas of the pitch combined with their recent fantastic form the odds were stacked hugely against the Wanderers.

However, after a first period where they were under constant pressure and really struggled to get a grip on the ball, the start of the second half saw Wolves came out of their shell and started to look more of a threat going forward.

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They got a deserved equaliser with just under half an hour to go through a well-guided Coady header, followed by chances for Adama Traore.

For the remainder of the half, it was all City and despite defending with resilience and bravery for much of the half, the hosts just proved to be too much for Wolves as they cruised to what in the end was an easy three points.

Even though the end result will not have been what Santo was ultimately hoping for, he will be proud of his side for the character and willingness that they showed to get back into the game.

Traore struggled in the central striker role

At the start of the game, Nuno opted to go with no recognised striker on the pitch as Pedro Neto was playing out on the left, usual right wing-back Nelson Semedo was being utilised on the right-wing and Traore was playing in the central striker role.

The decision to do this is something that ultimately did not work as Traore struggled to use the strengths of his pace and power to cause problems for the Citizens defence.

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He looked far more dangerous when young striker Fabio Silva was brought on to pitch and Traore was put out to the right.

This is because it looked to give him more freedom down that side, with the only thing that was lacking from his game was the final pass or the finishing touch.

The question that needs to be raised is why Santo decided to not play a natural striker from the off as he currently has two in his ranks through Silva and Willian Jose.

This is something that he may regret having not done as if he had his side may have looked more dangerous going forward right from the start instead of only after the break.

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