WOLVERHAMPTON, England (Reuters) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola forgot Hwang Hee-chan’s name when he listed Wolverhampton Wanderers’ key players before Saturday’s Premier League match at Molineux but the Spaniard will remember him now.
The South Korean international winger scored the second-half winner in a shock 2-1 victory that ended champions City’s perfect start to the season.
“Always we struggle at Wolves and when you see the quality individually that they have, especially up front with (Pedro) Neto, with (Matheus) Cunha, with the Korean guy, they are really, really good,” Guardiola had told reporters in his Friday press conference.
The omission of Hwang’s name was noted, and Wolves made sure it was spelled out when he scored — posting his picture on social media with the caption “The Korean Guy”.
Guardiola, who was sitting in the stands while serving a bench ban, could at least console himself that he was spot on with his assessment.
Neto’s cross was deflected in for a Ruben Dias own goal in the 13th minute while Cunha provided the pass for Hwang in the 66th.
“We needed to find a way to be solid and have enough attacking players to carry us up the pitch. We prepped for the game really well,” Wolves manager Gary O’Neil told the BBC.
“The lads saw all the (patterns) that we looked at and they carried it out brilliantly.
“Beating the best team in the world, and possibly ever, is a massive result for us.”
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Clare Fallon)
