Reijnders Stars, Haaland Scores Twice as City Cruise

News Desk

Islamabad: Whether Manchester City can reclaim their dominance in the Premier League following a summer of transition remains uncertain. However, Pep Guardiola will have found plenty of encouragement in their victory over Wolves.

Rayan Cherki, a £30 million signing from Lyon, came off the bench to round off the scoring within eight minutes of his debut, while fellow newcomer Tijjani Reijnders shone on his first league appearance.

The Dutch midfielder played a key role in both of Erling Haaland’s goals, which came either side of his own elegant, first-time finish. “City are back,” chanted the travelling supporters and by full-time, it was hard to argue otherwise.

Guardiola, though, was cautious in his post-match assessment. “Last season, we were supposedly back when we won 2-0 at Chelsea in our first game and look what happened after that,” he said. “We only won today.

If you told me we were back based on the second half, I’d say no.” City were ruthlessly efficient, scoring from all four of their shots on target each goal a display of quality, even if Haaland’s first was a simple tap-in at the end of a slick move initiated by Reijnders’ driving run. City showed the familiar swagger that has defined much of their recent success. From the stands, injured stars Rodri and Phil Foden may well have wondered how they’ll fit back into this evolving side.

A poignant moment came after the final whistle, when Rúben Dias and new captain Bernardo Silva joined Wolves players and head coach Vítor Pereira in applauding the South Bank, which echoed with chants of Diogo Jota’s name. Wolves’ unused substitute Sasa Kalajdzic laid a No 18 shirt — Jota’s old number — on the pitch in tribute to the former Molineux star, who died recently.

City had a sluggish start but quickly took control with two goals in three first-half minutes. Reijnders, tall and graceful in midfield, sparked the opener by skipping past João Gomes and lofting the ball into Rico Lewis, who squared for Haaland to finish from close range — his sixth touch of the game, continuing his tradition of scoring on opening day.

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The second goal followed a mistake by Emmanuel Agbadou, whose misplaced pass was intercepted by Oscar Bobb. The young winger, a surprise inclusion in the starting XI, pounced and drove forward, with Reijnders on his left and Haaland on his right. Bobb slipped the ball to Reijnders, who coolly slotted it into the bottom corner beyond José Sá.

Wolves had moments of promise and could feel hard done by as City’s goals came during their best spell. Marshall Munetsi had a header disallowed for offside, and John Stones made a crucial block to deny Jørgen Strand Larsen, who later fired wide just after half-time and forced a save from James Trafford later on.

Trafford, on his City debut, delivered a confident performance in goal. Despite the result, Pereira remained composed. “I didn’t lose my smile,” he said. “Every mistake we made, they punished — but there were positives.”

The emotional atmosphere at Molineux included a touching tribute to Jota before kick-off. A montage of his career played on the big screens, accompanied by his favourite song — Sting’s Fields of Gold.

A large tifo of Jota celebrating in Wolves colours stretched across the South Bank, and players who knew him personally like Sá and Matt Doherty were visibly moved. Rui Fuste, the club’s long-time head of medical, had attended both Jota’s wedding and, heartbreakingly, his funeral less than two weeks later.

Haaland sealed the result just after the hour mark. Reijnders again drove City forward after collecting a long kick from Trafford, exchanging passes with Bobb before cutting the ball back to Haaland.

This time, the striker still had work to do but blasted a low shot under Sá. Cherki’s late goal may have been the most eye-catching. The young Frenchman, who turns 22 on Sunday, backheeled a pass from Nico González to deceive João Gomes, then played a one-two with fellow substitute Nico O’Reilly before curling a low shot into the corner.