7M - 'A guy you can rely on' – Guehi delivers composed debut as Manchester City secure vital win over Wolves

Though City will encounter sterner opposition than Wolves, the performance offered a promising glimpse of what the 25-year-old centre-back brings to Pep Guardiola's side. His calmness under pressure, intelligent positioning, and precise distribution brought much-needed stability to a backline that has been disrupted by injuries to first-choice defenders Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias.

Few central defenders read the game as astutely as Guehi or maintain such disciplined positioning that they rarely need to commit to tackles. Against Wolves, he registered two interceptions and two blocks while completing 102 passes at a 93 per cent success rate—only teammate Rodri (103) surpassed him in that category. Guehi also touched the ball 112 times, second only to Rodri's 116, making them the only two players to reach triple figures in either metric.

"He's not come for six months; he's come for many years," Guardiola said on Manchester City's official website. "It was an opportunity for the price. He's the perfect age and he's the perfect signing for many, many years. He's a guy you can rely on. I see it in two sessions—how he sees, how he moves, how he talks, how he reads the situations."

Guehi nearly marked his debut with a goal, rising highest at the back post to meet a corner, only for Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa to make a sharp save. His first real test came when Hwang Hee-chan pressed aggressively after a long ball over the top, but Guehi remained composed, calmly recycling possession with a simple pass back to goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The win moved City within four points of league leaders Arsenal, though the Gunners hold a game in hand—against Manchester United on Sunday—which keeps the title race tightly poised. The result provided welcome relief for Guardiola after a grueling week that included consecutive defeats: first a 2-0 loss to rivals Manchester United, then a surprising 3-1 Champions League reverse at Bodø/Glimt in Norway, for which City refunded fans' tickets.

Much attention was drawn to the substitutes' bench, where Erling Haaland was surprisingly left out of the starting XI. In his absence, Omar Marmoush opened the scoring with a clinical finish, while Antoine Semenyo—playing his first home league match since joining from Bournemouth—demonstrated City's attacking depth. Semenyo doubled the lead with a composed finish after beating his marker and later rattled the crossbar with a curling effort following quick footwork inside the box.

Haaland, who entered the pitch in the 73rd minute, remains without a goal in his last five appearances and has scored just once in his past nine games—a rare dry spell suggesting even the prolific striker benefits from occasional rest. This season, he has netted 39 goals in 37 appearances for club and country.

Despite the comfortable scoreline, concerns lingered for Guardiola as Wolves grew into the game after halftime, creating several chances and coming close to pulling one back. Such lapses could prove costly in the demanding schedule ahead.

Following a midweek Champions League fixture against Galatasaray, City face a pivotal stretch in early February: away matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, bookending the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final against Newcastle United.

With Guehi now anchoring the defense, City enter this critical period with renewed defensive assurance—potentially a decisive factor in their pursuit of a fourth consecutive Premier League title.

"It was OK from my part—I've got a lot of learning to do to get up to speed," Guehi told BBC's Match of the Day. "There's a lot of details and positioning and certain things, but it's been really exciting. There's a good mentality in the group. It's important that the focus stays on the next game, making sure we get the win. We need that mentality and intensity, and hopefully we'll keep it going."