MARC GUEHI’S DEBUT: STATISTICS PROVE THE £20M SIGNING SOLVED CITY’S DEFENSIVE FRAGILITY
Marc Guehi debuts in City’s first league win of 2026. Guardiola’s tactical shift pays off as Haaland’s goal drought continues.
Erling Haaland went another game without a goal. Still, this one felt a bit different. Manchester City’s old reliable made a cameo. The two guys supposed to take some of the scoring pressure off Haaland both stepped up and found the net. Sure, Haaland’s only managed a single penalty in his last nine appearances, but honestly, nobody at City seemed too bothered this time.
Pep Guardiola kept pointing to Omar Marmoush’s absence at the Africa Cup of Nations as the reason he couldn’t give Haaland a breather. With Marmoush back, Haaland finally got a rest on the bench—only for Marmoush to score himself, playing out wide. Guardiola didn’t exactly sound convinced, though. “I see him more as a striker, not a proper winger,” he said. That’s classic Pep—always going against the grain. Even so, Haaland’s still the only real centre-forward in the squad.
But maybe he isn’t City’s only real scorer. Antoine Semenyo, who cost a massive £62.5 million, grabbed his first City goal—and his third in three different competitions. Only Haaland and Brentford’s Igor Thiago have more Premier League goals than Semenyo. Haaland only saw 17 minutes on the pitch, and by then, the game was already done and dusted.
After a brutal week—first battered in the Manchester derby, then stunned by Bodo/Glimt—City needed something routine, and that’s exactly what they got. Wolves barely put up a fight. They pretty much rolled over, like they were spooked by City’s reputation and forgot how shaky things had been for Guardiola’s team lately.
The city’s depth showed, though. They were missing 11 players in Norway, but back home, Guardiola could afford to leave Phil Foden and Haaland on the bench to start. Foden got half an hour, no stress. Both scorers set City back at least £60 million each. Guardiola also handed a debut to his newest signing, and Marc Guehi slotted in as he’d always worn sky blue, passing the ball around with real confidence.
City spent big in back-to-back January windows, and Marmoush was brought in for 2025. “When he arrived, he was unbelievable,” Guardiola said. “He is a special player.” Funny thing, though—the guy who scored last season’s Premier League goal of the year still hasn’t found the net this campaign.
Marmoush ended an eight-month wait in just six minutes, scoring a volley from Matheus Nunes’ cross. It was quite a game for Nunes, and it served as a reminder that Wolves might have sold too many players.
Guardiola's choice to play Marmoush on the wings paid off, with Rayan Cherki playing as a striker instead. The Egyptian nearly scored a second goal, hitting the post after a great long pass from Abdukodir Khusanov. Later, his volley hit Yerson Mosquera’s arm, but after review, the referee, Farai Hallam, didn't call a penalty. Not bad for his Premier League debut.
'I think Farai made the right call,' said Wolves manager Rob Edwards. Guardiola disagreed, saying he'd wait for the referees’ chief to call him.
Semenyo then made it two, and almost three, for City. His goal was his 11th in the league. 'The control is perfect; the ball goes straight into the net,' Guardiola said. Semenyo scored with his left foot and also hit the bar with the same foot. He's great with both feet, which is part of why City bought him. Antoine has been amazing since he got here, Guardiola added.
Haaland, who was on the bench for the first time this season, spent his time warming up and chatting with fellow Norwegian David Moller Wolfe. He eventually played, bringing his total minutes for City this season to 2,586. It seemed odd that Guardiola brought him in at all.
Haaland’s appearance showed the difference between the two teams. It was funny bringing Tolu [Arokodare] on when they were bringing on [Jeremy] Doku and Erling Haaland, Edwards said. Haaland wasn't the only striker on the bench. Edwards also dropped Arokodare, playing a 5-5-0 formation instead. We made the change because they can overwhelm you and keep you from getting the ball, Edwards said.
Wolves didn't seem to learn from City’s recent games, missing chances in the first half. They played with more ambition later, and Jorgen Strand Larsen, who is wanted by Leeds, came on. He headed wide, and Mosquera flicked a corner onto the bar.
'The atmosphere might have changed if we had scored,' said Edwards. Instead, City finally won a league victory for the first time in 2026, even though Haaland didn't score.
PEP GUARDIOLA REFUSES TO GUARANTEE RODRI’S RETURN FOR MONDAY’S PREMIER LEAGUE CLASH
Pep Guardiola provides the latest injury news on Rodri, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol ahead of a crucial title race clash at Everton.
Pep Guardiola has shared the latest on Manchester City's injury situation ahead of Monday’s Premier League match against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
City is in good form right now. They came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, making it six wins in a row across all competitions.
But they’ve had to do it without Rodri. He's missed their last two matches, including a tight 1-0 win at Burnley, after hurting his groin against Arsenal a couple of weeks back. Guardiola recently told reporters that Rodri is getting better, but the team’s been cautious and isn’t rushing him back.
At his latest press conference on Friday, Guardiola said Rodri still hasn’t returned to training, so they’re just taking it day by day. There's hope, but Guardiola wouldn’t give any guarantees about Rodri’s chances of playing against Everton. "He’s getting better. Still, he didn't train with us, so we’ll see in the next few days,” he said. When pressed about his confidence, Pep just replied, “I am always confident.”
With Rodri still not training, it sounds like a last-minute decision on whether he’ll play. A start against Everton seems unlikely. That probably means Nico González, who scored the winner against Southampton, will keep his spot in midfield next to Bernardo Silva. Maybe Nico O’Reilly slides into central midfield, too, if he isn’t covering at left-back.
It’s not all good news in defence either. Ruben Dias is still out with the ankle injury that’s kept him sidelined for the last six games, and Josko Gvardiol is recovering from the tibial fracture he picked up in January. Both are working their way back, and Guardiola says they’re improving, but there’s no sign of a return just yet.
Turning to the Everton game, City could head into it trailing Arsenal by six points if the Gunners beat Fulham on Saturday. With the title race this tight, City can’t afford to slip up.
Guardiola knows Monday will be tough. “Everton have always been tough,” he said. “Old Everton was so cool and so British, and I loved to go there, but in the new stadium, they are defending really well, and it has always been tough." He’s not taking recent Everton results lightly, adding, 'They're fighting for a place in Europe. We won with two or three actions here, but we were not good at that moment. We can’t have any result but win, win, win.”
Everton won’t be easy, especially away, but City can at least take confidence from their strong record of 17 league games unbeaten against the Toffees. They won the reverse fixture 2-0, with Haaland scoring both goals. Still, Guardiola isn’t expecting it to be straightforward.
MANCHESTER CITY’S REQUEST TO RESCHEDULE PIVOTAL PREMIER LEAGUE TIES BRUTALLY DENIED
The Premier League has rejected Man City’s plea to swap Palace and Bournemouth matches. See City's brutal end-of-season schedule.
Manchester City are on the hunt for another domestic treble just seven years after the last one. Pep Guardiola pulled it off in 2018/19 with wins in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup. Now he's got his sights set on doing it again.
City’s deep run in the cups has created a mess for their league schedule. Their home game against Crystal Palace, which was supposed to happen during the Carabao Cup final weekend on March 22, got bumped. Same thing with their trip to Bournemouth, originally set for the day after the FA Cup final.
There’s a hold-up with rescheduling Palace; the Eagles’ Conference League semi-final run means they’ve got barely any free midweek dates. The match was pencilled in for Wednesday, May 13, but things got complicated when City reached the FA Cup Final, and Bournemouth got postponed too. The city asked the Premier League if they could play Bournemouth on Tuesday, May 12, then face Palace a week later, to squeeze in an extra recovery day before the Wembley showdown. Plus, that would give them the bonus of finishing their last two league games at home. But the Premier League usually insists that the fixture that was originally scheduled first in this case, Palace, gets played first.
According to The Mirror, City’s request was shot down. So now Guardiola’s team has to cram their last four matches into just 12 days: Palace visits on May 13, then the FA Cup Final, Bournemouth away on May 19, and finally wrapping things up at home to Aston Villa on May 24.
They couldn't play Bournemouth on May 20 because that’s the Europa League final night, and UEFA didn’t want any Premier League games stealing the spotlight when Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest could be involved.
The Mirror says the revised fixture dates and kick-off times are coming out today. Chelsea, also FA Cup finalists, will play their rescheduled match against Tottenham on May 19.
City still has to travel to Everton next Monday and host Brentford on Saturday, May 9. Then comes their jam-packed finish, starting with Palace.
Meanwhile, title rivals Arsenal will be hoping City’s crowded schedule works in their favour. Though Arsenal has its own challenge, a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid is spread across the next two midweeks.
Arsenal closes out its league campaign with home games against Fulham and Burnley and trips to West Ham and Palace.
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