Raheem Sterling's Penalty Steals All 3 Points for Manchester City Against Stubborn Wolves

• Wolves played the second half with 10 men after Raul Jimenez’s dismissal
• City were fortunate to receive a penalty after a lengthy VAR review, with Sterling converting the spot-kick
• Victory means City solidfy their lead at the top of the table

A Raheem Sterling penalty was enough for Manchester City to see off a stubborn Wolverhampton side in the early kick-off in the Premier League on Saturday, December 11.

The England winger kept his cool with a fine penalty in the 66th minute after a long VAR check ruled that Joao Moutinho had blocked Bernardo Silva’s cross with his hand.

It was a frustrating night for Wolves, who did a good job to keep Man City at bay for majority of the game, despite playing the second half with 10 men.

Striker Raul Jimenez was dismissed in the first half for two quick bookable offenses, leaving Bruno Lage’s men needing to adjust themselves to contain the game.

Raheem Sterling's controversial penalty gives Man City win over tough opponents in EPL battle

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And they did a good job at that, but things took a turn for the worse in the 66th minute, and the visitors will feel hard done by the penalty as replays seemed to suggest the ball hit Moutinho’s armpit.

On an overall balance of play, however, City deserved to win as Pep Guardiola’s boys had 24 shots on target compared to Wolves’s three.

The visitors, though, deserve credit for some exemplary defending as defender Conor Coady headed Ilkay Gundogan’s effort off the line, while Max Kilman blocked Phil Foden’s effort which seemed goal bound.

Lage’s boys mounted a late surge for an equaliser as Kilman drew a smart save from Ederson late on but it was not meant to be as City’s clean sheet meant Wolves have failed to score in their past four games.

The win for City means no one can topple them from the top, at least not this weekend.

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Penalties galore for big sides

In the other matches on Saturday, the top three sides were all handed crucial penalties which proved crucial to the overall outcome of their respective games.

Like Man City, Liverpool had the same fate as Mo Salah’s spot-kick saw off Aston Villa in Steven Gerrard’s return to Anfield.

For Ralf Rangnick, his Man United side, who looked tame against Norwich, were fortunate to get a penalty in the 75th minute which was cooly slotted home by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Chelsea perhaps had the most dramatic penalty incident as Jorginho struck late in the game against Leeds just as the game was meandering towards a draw.