Whatever the rights and wrongs of Manchester City's decision to sack Mark Hughes, Roberto Mancini has managed to win as many Premier League games in three days as his predecessor did in his final 12 weeks. This victory was not quite as routine as the scoreline suggests, with Wolves proving awkward opponents until the final 20 minutes, but Mancini was entitled to cherish a second successive clean sheet and City's first away win in four months.
The Italian's decision to drop Robinho and replace him with Craig Bellamy was totally vindicated, with the Welshman an effervescent presence. He created the first goal and made life uncomfortable for the Wolves defence throughout with his searing pace, although it was Carlos Tevez who exuded a ruthless touch in front of goal. The City forward scored twice to take his tally to eight in seven matches.
Between those two strikes the substitute Javier Garrido, who was making only his second appearance of the season, curled a wonderful free-kick from 25 yards around the outside of the wall and inside the near post of the embarrassed Marcus Hahnemann. It was a sublime piece of skill and effectively killed the game, although Wolves were furious Bellamy had not been ruled offside before the free-kick was awarded.
Bellamy, who had started wide on the left but was pushed alongside Tevez in an early tactical change, was in an offside position when the ball was pumped towards Jody Craddock. However, rather than let the ball run through, which would have prompted the assistant referee to raise his flag, the Wolves central defender opted to head, enabling Bellamy to come back onside and join the attack again when City seized possession.
McCarthy was apoplectic at the time but refused to elaborate afterwards, perhaps mindful that the officials had interpreted the rules correctly. "If I talk, it might lose me a few quid," said the Wolves manager. "I've put in my report what I thought. It will be up to the powers that be to say what they think of my words. But I thought we played well tonight. Up until the second goal we were causing them problems."
While the Wolves manager's disappointment was understandable, City ultimately highlighted the chasm between the two sides in the closing stages. Some of their attacking football in that period was breathtaking, in particular when the impressive Martin Petrov and Bellamy combined in the 82nd minute, their first-time passes across the width of the pitch releasing Tevez. This time, however, the striker was unable to find his range, dinking wide of Hahnemann and denying City a champagne moment.
His first goal had arrived following a bright Wolves opening, when the home side's high-tempo approach allied to the aerial threat posed by Chris Iwelumo threatened to make life difficult for City. There was, however, always a danger that City would inflict damage on the counter-attack with their pace going forward and, moments before Tevez struck, Bellamy should have opened the scoring when he volleyed over from inside the six-yard box. He wasted no time in atoning for this profligacy.
Little more than 60 seconds later Bellamy escaped on the left, racing on to Petrov's slide-rule pass before eluding Craddock by letting the ball run through his legs. Cutting in from the left he looked up before pulling the ball back into the path of Tevez, whose shot from 12 yards would surely have been saved by Hahnemann but for Berra's deflection which took the ball on a different course and into the back of the Wolves net.
Tevez was his usual ubiquitous self and even turned up on his own goalline to head George Elokobi's far-post effort off the line moments before the interval. That reprieve should have been followed with a second City goal shortly after the restart but Bellamy, following more superb interplay between the rejuvenated Petrov and Tevez, flicked the ball wide with the outside of his right boot as Hahnemann narrowed the angle.
Doyle squandered Wolves' best opening, when Shay Given saved at his feet, six minutes before Garrido's brilliant strike. Thereafter it was left to Tevez to seal another productive day's work for Mancini, the forward drilling home from the edge of the penalty area after Robinho, a late replacement for Petrov, sliced a crossfield pass to his feet.
"They put on a sub that cost more than the club," said McCarthy. "That kind of puts life in perspective for me."
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Carlos Tevez proved him again that he is the best
their second game in three days. It had felt more like a demonstration of strength from the new manager.
