By Andrew Cawthorne
WOLVERHAMPTON, England (Reuters) -Manchester City defender John Stones headed a controversial stoppage-time winner in a 2-1 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday that took them top of the Premier League and set a club record of 31 league games unbeaten.
Champions City dominated possession from start to finish at Molineux, but were shocked in the seventh minute when a perfect cross from Nelson Semedo was met with a composed close-range finish by Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Semedo missed a glorious chance to put Wolves further ahead in a one-on-one that Ederson saved, before City defender Josko Gvardiol picked up the ball in space and curled a beautiful shot past Jose Sa for a deserved 33rd-minute equaliser.
Stones’s late goal from a corner went to a Video Assistant Refereee (VAR) check for a possible offside by Bernardo Silva in front of the goalkeeper, but it was allowed, to the delight of their manager Pep Guardiola and travelling fans.
“I’m really pleased to win in that fashion and get on the scoresheet again,” said Stones, who also scored a late equaliser against Arsenal last month.
“It was a tough game. I’ve got to give credit to Wolves, how they stopped us creating chances, made it difficult for us in the final third,” he added.
City moved top of the league on goal difference with 20 points, two above Liverpool who face Chelsea later on Sunday and could retake top spot with a win.
Bottom on one point and without a win this season, Wolves are staring at a battle against relegation unless they can start picking up wins.
Their manager Gary O’Neil was furious at the end of the game, after his team had defended valiantly against City who enjoyed three quarters of possession.
Referee Chris Kavanagh initially disallowed Stones’ goal, believing Silva had blocked goalkeeper Sa’s line of vision, but VAR deemed that was not the case. When Kavanagh saw footage at the side of the pitch, he overturned the decision, bringing boos ringing round the ground from the home fans.
(Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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