Manchester City crossed paths with Wolves at Molineux, with the Champions seeking the top spot in the League, albeit a temporary one.
Aside from an early hiccup against Liverpool in the Community Shield, City have been indomitable this season and went into the game on an unbeaten streak stretching back to opening day.
On the other hand, Wolves sit anxiously close to the relegation zone.
Despite showing flashes of silky football, Wolves falter when it comes to finishing.
Combined with woes in defence, something’s gotta give for Bruno Lage’s side.
Heading into their game against City, the home side certainly wouldn’t have expected to get much out of it.
Any hopes they had reserved quickly vanished, as Jack Grealish stroked home a pin-point Kevin De Bruyne cross in the first minute itself.
Erling Haaland then netted his customary goal, fulfilling his algorithm and making it 2-0 to the visitors.
Matters worsened even further when Nathan Collins picked up a red for his martial arts exhibition on Grealish.
Down to 10 men, a 2 goal deficit on the board, with 60 odd minutes to go, from this point on, it was all about survival for Wolves.
They held on for quite a long, until KDB provided once again, on this occasion for Phil Foden.
In the end, City won 3-0 in rather comfortable fashion, business as usual for Pep Guardiola’s side.
The post-match plaudits went to Jack Grealish as he put in an impressive performance, while also grabbing a much-needed goal.
However, it’s arguable that at the heart of City’s win was Kevin De Bruyne, as is usually the case.
Boasting a passing accuracy of 85%, KDB grabbed Two assists, both through his signature crosses from the right side.
The Belgian is a menace for every opponent but has especially been a thorn in Wolves’ side.
In fact, his previous appearance against the Wanderers saw him grab 4 goals, which included a first-half hat trick.
Needless to say, Wolves probably looked into a plan for containing him.
And despite failing to do so, they certainly were sincere with their efforts, as evidenced by this clip featuring Jose Sa and the man himself.
Captured in the tunnel at Molineux, the clip displays a small interaction between the two players.
Sa taps KDB’s back and quite literally requests him to take it easy, in the most cordial manner possible.
A warm smile instantly takes over the Belgian, who then waves his hand.
Perhaps he was dismissing Sa’s request or maybe he was just being modest.
While that’s unclear, what we do know for sure is that players dread the sight of Kevin De Bruyne as part of the opposition.