Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers was routine but there was plenty to discuss beyond the unremarkable scoreline.
Erling Haaland (£15.1m) and Phil Foden (£8.6m) were reduced to one-pointers off the bench, Marc Guehi (£5.2m) was handed a debut, and Antoine Semenyo (£7.7m) made it three goals in four starts since his arrival in the north-west.
Here are our first Gameweek 23 Scout Notes.
PEP THROWS DOWN GAUNTLET TO HAALAND + FODEN
Foden’s benching broke his 19-match starting run in the Premier League. Haaland was an ever-present starter in 2025/26 until Saturday.
The demotions weren’t completely out of the blue. Pep Guardiola had described Haaland as “exhausted” less than a fortnight ago, while a below-par Foden had been subbed off early in the last few games. The assumption was that, with Omar Marmoush (£8.3m) back from Africa, Haaland would be perhaps rested against the likes of Bodo/Glimt, Galatasaray and/or Salford City between now and mid-February. Maybe even the EFL Cup semi-final second leg, as City are already 2-0 up in that.
But the breather didn’t come in the Arctic Circle, instead arriving on Saturday.
The question is: is it just a breather?
Guardiola did allude to Foden and Haaland’s game-time after the win over Wolves. But he also seemed to be singing from a different hymn sheet: the lack of attacking returns.
“People up front, it’s a question of numbers: assists, goals, assists, goals, assists, goals.” – Pep Guardiola when asked about Omar Marmoush’s performance, to Match of the Day
“Antoine’s numbers since he arrived, look how many goals – and another one disallowed at Newcastle. It’s a question of numbers. Really good.” – Pep Guardiola on Antoine Semenyo, to Match of the Day
“We cannot do what we want to try to do this season, and the future of this club, without Erling and Phil at their best. They play a lot, a lot, a lot. Then like Antoine came with incredible energy, and you know, the numbers. Strikers, it is a question of numbers, numbers. Since he arrived, Antoine is unbelievable. So, make a good goal… it looks easy but the control is perfect, passed the ball to the net. Makes another chance with the excellent pass for Marc [Guehi] and had another chance with the crossbar. So, people up front, it is a question of numbers, but we need desperately the best from Erling and Phil.” – Pep Guardiola, in his post-match press conference
CHERKI/REIJNDERS, NOT MARMOUSH, UP TOP
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t Marmoush replacing Haaland up front.
Instead, the Egyptian and Semenyo lined up as narrow wingers. Rayan Cherki (£6.7m) started as a false nine, but sometimes the responsibility fell to Tijjani Reijnders (£5.2m). On occasion, it looked like a 4-4-2 with both of them up there:
It worked a treat, with first Marmoush and then Semenyo scoring from central positions. Marmoush stabbed in a peach of a Matheus Nunes (£5.5m) cross, while Semenyo took a lovely touch from a Bernardo Silva (£6.2m) pass and stroked the ball past Jose Sa (£4.2m).
Both ‘wingers’ hit the woodwork, too, with Semenyo also denied by Sa early on.
“He’s a special player, of course, not old, not young, but margin to improve. He has a sense of goal, his dynamic energy, his runs are really good. I see him more as a striker, not as a proper winger, but he’s a guy for transition actions.” – Pep Guardiola on Omar Marmoush
Was this the “change of dynamic” that Guardiola promised on Friday – or just a kick up the backside for Foden/Haaland? The game ended with those two on the pitch in a more recognisable shape, with fellow substitute Jeremy Doku (£6.4m) and Semenyo flanking the Norwegian.
Whatever set-up we see in Gameweek 24, Semenyo looks the best bet for minutes. He again lasted the full game, as he had done in the Manchester derby and the EFL Cup semi-final, and, of course, he’s ineligible for Galatasaray on Wednesday.
GUARDIOLA GUSHES ABOUT GUEHI
Someone else who can’t play in Europe, at least until the knockout rounds, is Marc Guehi.
He was straight into the Premier League XI on Saturday, and played like he’d been there for a while. A cool, calm head at the back (much needed after recent results), he also showed off his distribution, setting up Semenyo’s early chance with a long pass.
He nearly added to his six attacking returns with an early header from a corner, although we’re probably going to have to get used to a decrease in DefCon points; this was his joint-lowest contributions total (five) of 2025/26 so far.
Guardiola gushed about Guehi after the game.
“You realise immediately how good he is in terms of mentality, his age, his composure. I have the feeling he lives 24 hours for his profession.” – Pep Guardiola on Marc Guehi, to Sky
“The transfer is a really, really good price and he is a perfect age, 25, 26 years old, so it’s an incredible signing for Man City for the next many, many years. He is a guy you can rely on. You see it… believe me, two training sessions. How he moves, how he talks, how he sees what happens around him, reads the situations. Yeah, really good.” – Pep Guardiola on Marc Guehi
While performances dictate everything, it’s difficult to see him not becoming a lynchpin at the back for the foreseeable future.
Nunes, incidentally, was excellent on his return, while Nico O’Reilly (£5.1m) got the nod at left-back. O’Reilly’s owners probably wouldn’t mind this system continuing, what with width needed from full-back.
WOLVES REFUSE TO ROLL OVER
Wolves were not at the races in the first half, with Rob Edwards copping some of the blame after full-time.
“I hope it’s not going to be perceived as a negative change bringing Tolu out the team. It was just, the rationale was, we wanted to take the ball more and be able to get behind them in a different type of way.” – Rob Edwards on why he dropped Tolu Arokodare and effectively went without a striker in the first half
But there’s been undeniable progress in the last few weeks. Even the avoidance of a capitulation here was an indication of that.
Wolves matched their hosts for shots (11-11), keeping City down to under 1.0 xG, too.
Budget forward Matheus Mane (£4.5m) was lively in the second half, troubling the City defence on occasion with his dribbling. He racked up four shots, too. It’s not always the right decision from him, but he’s generally always positive with his intention.
Yerson Mosquera (£4.3m), bizarrely, is the Premier League’s top shot-taker of Gameweek 23 so far. He registered five attempts, going close with a couple of set-play efforts and then bombing the box late on.
