Raheem Sterling converted a controversial penalty to reach 100 Premier League goals and give Manchester City victory in a one-sided contest with 10-man Wolves.
Sterling kept his cool to roll his 66th-minute spot-kick past Jose Sa after a lengthy VAR check ruled Joao Moutinho had illegally blocked Bernardo Silva's cross, even though it seemed to hit the Wolves midfielder on his armpit.
The decision compounded Wolves' frustrations given they were annoyed at Raul Jimenez's dismissal for two yellow-card offences within seconds of each other near the end of the opening period.
Not that the visitors could have any complaints on the balance of play. City had 24 shots compared to Wolves' three. Jose Sa made three excellent saves to deny the hosts, Conor Coady headed an Ilkay Gundogan effort off the line, Max Kilman blocked a goalbound Phil Foden effort and Jack Grealish somehow failed to convert Sterling's far-post cross with the goal at his mercy.
Kilman brought a save out of Ederson at the end but Wolves have failed to score in their past four games and managed just one goal in their past six.
In contrast, City have now six Premier League games in a row to maintain their place at the top of the table and keep the pressure on title rivals Liverpool and Chelsea.
Sterling later said: "Every time we play Wolves at home it's always a difficult one. They're always a difficult side to break down.
"[Scoring 100 Premier League goals] is a lovely achievement. There are some fantastic players in that list. I'm really honoured to be in it now.
"We knew we had to keep patient. They kept it really tight, but we knew if we kept playing we'd get an opportunity – and we did.
"Wolves are always a difficult side to play against, home and away. Each game has its different challenges. We've always found it very difficult to break Wolves down and it was the same again today.
"We keep saying 'next game'. That's all we can keep doing. We need to do the same in midweek."
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