The Joe Edwards debrief – Wolves 1 Manchester City 3

The first period was downright bad, but the second offered up some encouraging signs in an eventual 3-1 defeat for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

That first 45 minutes

So, why was it so below-par in the first half? For perhaps the first time under Nuno, Wolves seemed overawed.

City looked every bit a top team and Wolves just went into their shell, paid them too much respect and found themselves chasing shadows for a while.

Pep Guardiola’s lot are smooth operators, of course, but the distinct lack of pressure from the hosts completely played into their hands.

If you are going to give someone like Kevin De Bruyne the time to make a pass, he will pick out his target.

City were well worth their 2-0 lead at the break, and it is not a stretch to say it was one of the worst halves of football we have seen from Wolves in recent years.

Thankfully, it got a lot better in the second as Nuno’s lot suddenly started to believe themselves, getting at City and finding gaps.

And with better finishing, they could have even snatched a point. Football is a strange game at times, but what is for sure is that Wolves cannot afford more first-halves like that.

Promising Podence

The big positive for Wolves was the performance of Daniel Podence.

Yes, he did miss two good chances to score but the way he nutmegged De Bruyne and crossed the ball to Jimenez, who headed home for his second goal in as many top-flight games, was majestic.

Following the departure of Diogo Jota for Premier League champions Liverpool, the onus is on Podence to step up and become a regular source of goals and assists.

Two assists in two, setting up Jimenez at both Bramall Lane and Molineux, is a nice start, and let’s hope he will start converting opportunities himself sooner rather than later.

Such a naturally-gifted footballer, the Portuguese has the potential to be a key player for Wolves this campaign.

Wing-back reinforcements

Another thing to smile about is that the right-wing-back area has been significantly bolstered ahead of the trip to West Ham on Sunday.

Adama Traore – as to be expected, as it is not his position – struggled again defensively and will be looking forward to doing what he does best, causing problems in the final third, at the London Stadium.

Wolves snapped up Ki-Jana Hoever from Liverpool last weekend and with Nelson Semedo coming in from Barcelona, too, the position suddenly looks so much better.

It has been a weakness of Wolves in these first few games of the season, but now it could well become a big strength – a game-changer in all the right ways.

On the other side of the coin, though, there is cause for concern on the other flank as Fernando Marcal limped off just seven minutes into the clash.

His replacement, Ruben Vinagre, did not perform well either.

Nuno, hopefully, will shed more light on Marcal’s condition before the game against the Hammers. If he misses out, though, Vinagre must do better.

Decent run

With Wolves aiming to build on back-to-back seventh-placed finishes, this run of fixtures could be key in determining how 2020/21 goes.

After facing West Ham on Sunday, they host Fulham.

Then, following the international break, they travel to Leeds before taking on both Newcastle and Crystal Palace at Molineux. On paper, those are five very winnable games for Wolves.

If they perform like they did in the second half against City, they will be fine. But they must avoid another first half like that at all costs.