Pep Guardiola‘s bid for a third straight Premier League title looks doomed after Matt Doherty completed a stunning Wolves comeback.
And Raheem Sterling was pelted by missiles, including a hip flask, on a night of high drama and VAR controversy. City now sit 14 points behind Liverpool and boss Guardiola said: “The gap to Liverpool has been too big for a long time. It is not realistic to think about the title race. We cannot prioritise any competition because if we do then next season we won’t be in Europe.”
Midfielder Bernardo Silva added: “It is a really bad situation for us and a frustrating first half of the season. Nobody expected us to be this far away from Liverpool at this point.”
A glorious night for Wolves was soured by the scenes after Sterling’s controversial 25th-minute opening goal. The England ace and his team-mates had objects thrown at them and the Midlanders will face an FA investigation.
Boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: “It’s not good, let’s not do it, let’s support the team and enjoy the game.”
City keeper Ederson saw red early on for a foul outside the box on Diogo Jota but then Sterling put City ahead. His twice-taken penalty was saved both times by Rui Patricio but he tapped in the second rebound. It came FOUR MINUTES AND 20 SECONDS after VAR awarded the champions a spot-kick for a foul on Riyad Mahrez.
Missiles were thrown from the home end during the celebrations and referee Martin Atkinson handed over the hip flask to fourth official Andre Marriner. During the delay, furious fans chanted, “It’s not football any more” and “F* VAR”.
Wolves pleaded to fans over the PA system after “numerous instances of objects being thrown” and CCTV will be used to prosecute offenders. Sterling added a second before Adama Traore halved the deficit and then Raul Jimenez and Doherty’s late solo effort sealed a famous triumph.
Sterling hit the bar with an injury-time free-kick but could not prevent Wolves doing the double over the champions. Nuno added: “It was an amazing atmosphere, a very emotional game. Well played to my players.”
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