By KBC Associate 
Kevin De Bruyne’s parting gift to Manchester City may be to play a key role in the club qualifying for the Champions League.
The Belgian, who will leave the Etihad at the end of the season after City opted not to offer him a new contract, scored the only goal 10 minutes before the break as Pep Guardiola’s side rode their luck against Wolves.
The victory moved City above Newcastle and up to third in the Premier League but it was a win built as much on fortune as it was flair.
Kevin De Bruyne strikes for Manchester City in his penultimate match at the Etihad! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/PefJBewv9S
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 2, 2025
Impressive Wolves deserved more
Wolves arrived on the back of a six-game winning streak and it showed as they created the better of the chances in the first half and, while their opportunities after the break were more sporadic, they still carried a threat.
Vitor Pereira has instilled new-found belief since taking over and Wolves arguably deserved more after hitting the woodwork twice and wasting other presentable openings.
Their Brazilian core of Andre, Joao Gomes and Matheus Cunha caused City problems all night. Indeed, the only thing missing from their game was a killer touch.
Twice they came close to opening the scoring in the first half only to be thwarted by a lack of quality when it really mattered.
City’s early threat didn’t really amount to much – Omar Marmoush firing over with their best effort – while, at the other end, Pereira’s men ought to have taken the lead after 22 minutes.
A brilliant sweeping move saw Cunha play a defence splitting-ball that left Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in the clear to the right of goal. Rather than shooting, he opted to square it to the unmarked Marshall Munetsi but overhit the pass and the chance was lost.
They came even closer four minutes later with Rayan Ait-Nouri’s burst culminating in a shot that crashed back off Ederson’s left-hand post. The ball rebounded back to the left wing-back but his follow-up was cleared off the line by Josko Gvardiol.
De Bruyne rides to the rescue – again
Having looked all at sea, City promptly went up the other end and opened the scoring after 35 minutes.
Andre lost the ball in midfield, Ilkay Gundogan found Jeremy Doku and the winger’s cut-back was perfect for De Bruyne to fire past Jose Sa.
This was likely to be De Bruyne’s penultimate home game before he departs to a destination yet to be determined – morning reports linked him with Chicago Fire in MLS – and the City fans lapped up the moment.
Having spent much of the opening period struggling for fluency, City improved after the break with De Bruyne taking control of midfield areas.
But, with Erling Haaland not yet fit enough to start although his presence on the bench following a six-game absence was welcome for the City fans, the hosts struggled to cut through the Wolves backline.
Sooooo CLOSE! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/IX9Rw69oe2
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 2, 2025
Cunha offers persistent threat
Wolves’ forays forward were increasingly rare but with Cunha in the ranks, City’s defence could not relax. And the in-demand forward almost conjured up an equaliser out of nothing after 56 minutes, finding a yard of space on the edge of the area and crashing a shot against the upright.
The remainder of the game saw City content to keep control of possession and territory without doing very much with it.
And with Wolves’ threat diminishing, the contest petered out.
City will now spend the weekend checking on their rivals for a top-five finish knowing their work is done.