Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists results mean nothing yet as they lost their Premier League lead.
The champions were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by battling Wolves to drop their first points of the campaign.
Wolves’ Willy Boly scored with his hand, which was missed by referee Martin Atkinson, before Aymeric Laporte headed in from an Ilkay Gundogan free-kick to level.
Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Brighton saw Jurgen Klopp’s side go above City in the league table as the Reds maintained their 100 per cent start to the season.
Saturday = done ?
Who impressed you the most today? #PL pic.twitter.com/m3BbWyLAJv
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 25, 2018
But, after City’s draw early on Saturday, Guardiola remained calm.
He said: “We came to win the game like we did in the last month but we dropped two points or won one point and nothing will change after three Premier League games.
“It’s a long road and we have to continue in that way.
“I said in the previous press conference that, in my experience, they are tough games at the start against newly-promoted clubs.
It was not the result that we wanted to get but we fought until the end for the three points. I am happy to have scored my first goal in the Premier League with @ManCity. #AL14 pic.twitter.com/R9uWT5CQNN
— Aymeric Laporte (@Laporte) August 25, 2018
“I prefer to play them in November or December when the season is more advanced because most days they don’t feel pressure against one of the contenders to win the Premier League.”
Sergio Aguero hit the woodwork twice while Rui Patricio turned Raheem Sterling’s drive onto the bar as City dominated, but it was Laporte who popped to rescue a point.
Boly’s goal will also increase calls for the introduction of VAR in the Premier League while Sergio Aguero and David Silva had penalty claims rejected.
“I didn’t see it. I’m not the referee, never will be,” said Guardiola on Boly’s goal and City’s penalty shouts.
It was Laporte’s first goal for City but he remained frustrated after they failed to get over the line at Molineux.
“The fans are helping us, we thank them for that. I think it was a fantastic game for everybody.”@Nuno speaks after today’s draw against @ManCity. #WOLMCI
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 25, 2018
He told the club’s official site: “It’s always good to win points but we wanted to win. We’ll see in the future if that point is going to be important but I’m not personally satisfied. With Manchester City we always have to win three points.”
Wolves are still looking for their first win back in the Premier League with the draw setting a club record of 17 winless top flight games going back to 2012.
Boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: “We don’t have to prove anything to anyone, just be ourselves. We improved on last week against a fantastic team and a fantastic coach, let’s do it again next week.
“If there’s a but in our performance, we could improve our possession of the ball. We want to be a team that, when we have possession, we’re in control of the tempo of the game.”