Kevin De Bruyne scored the only goal in his penultimate home game for Manchester City as they secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over an in-form Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad Stadium on Friday night, significantly boosting their Champions League qualification hopes.
Wolves arrived in Manchester on the back of a six-game winning streak – their best in the top flight since 1970 – and caused City problems early on. Rayan Aït-Nouri struck the post before his follow-up effort was cleared off the line by Joško Gvardiol, while Jean-Ricner Bellegarde spurned another good opportunity.
However, City weathered the early pressure and took the lead against the run of play in the 35th minute. Jérémy Doku provided a low cross from the left, and captain Kevin De Bruyne arrived to apply a first-time finish for his sixth career goal against Wolves.
The visitors continued to threaten after the break, with Matheus Cunha hitting the woodwork with a whipped shot. City also missed chances to extend their lead through Omar Marmoush and Mateo Kovačić but ultimately held firm for a crucial three points.
The victory lifts Pep Guardiola’s side to third in the Premier League table on 64 points, opening up a four-point gap over sixth-placed Nottingham Forest in the race for a top-five finish and Champions League qualification. City, who have now won five consecutive games in all competitions and are unbeaten in nine, appear to be finding form at the right time after relinquishing their league title and exiting the Champions League earlier than anticipated. Their favourable remaining fixtures are against Southampton, Bournemouth, and Fulham.
For De Bruyne, who announced last month he will leave City when his contract expires this summer after an illustrious 11-year spell, it was a fitting contribution. Wolves, whose impressive winning run came to an end, remain 13th on 41 points but have already secured their Premier League safety.
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