Saturday, 25 August 2018: A whopping 31,322 supporters, the biggest at Molineux since 1981 witnessed last seasons Championship title winners host the 2017/18 Premier League Centurions.
Nuterals tuning in to watch the match, live on Sky Sports or the highlights on Match of the Day later the same day would have seen moments throughout the game scattered with controversy, a splash of drama and sprinklings of talking points (sounds to me like the perfect ingredient straight out of a cookery book).
If you want to view the match stats, click here. A match report is here and if you would like to rate both sets of players, out of 10 all you have to do is tap/click here.
Here are the three things we learned from the 1-1 draw
VAR
This was mentioned within the ‘rate the player’ article.
I don’t want to sound bitter. However, Willy Boly’s goal should have been ruled out for handball. I mean, the lineman, or should that be referee’s assistant had no excuse and should have raised his flag.
I don’t want football to go down the same route as rugby or cricket with the overuse of technology, nevertheless, whether we like it or not, we’re living in the 21st Century, and in my opinion, the Premier League should move with the times and adopt VAR. I mean, the EPL bosses are running out of excuses. Right?
Will we see VAR introduced from the start of the 2019/20 season?
You bet we will.
Wolves recruitment
There were a couple of players who stood out on Saturday. Ruben Neves, Conor Coady and goal scorer Willy Boly looked comfortable playing in England’s top division, as did a couple of others, hence the reason why I will stick my neck out and say Wolves, come the end of the season finish mid-table.
I don’t intend to write-up all of Wolves summer recruitment, but from what I’ve seen the clubs Chinese owners have spent wisely.
World Cup Blues
I get the feeling one, or two City players are suffering from World Cup blues. In other words, they are not performing at their best.
Leroy Sane, left out of the German squad is lacking in confidence.
John Stones is struggling to regain his place while Ilkay Gundogan is not firing on all cylinders.
Vinny looks as though he needs another couple of weeks to quicken up his game, as does Kyle.
A draw is not the end of the world and praise should be given to the Premier Leagues newcomers for at least ‘giving it a go.’
International break
Before the season’s first international break perhaps, on Saturday we’ll see a resurgent City side take on Newcastle United.
Come on CITY!