Mersons says Prem must ‘take notice now’ as star man makes it ‘look so easy’ in City rout of Wolves

Paul Merson believes Manchester City sent out a title “wake-up call” with their 4-0 victory over Wolves and says one player in particular caught the eye.

City had slipped under the radar in pre-season, with most of the attention falling on Liverpool and Arsenal. But Merson insists Pep Guardiola’s side have quickly reminded everyone what they are capable of.

“No-one has really even mentioned Man City in the build up to the season,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s like no-one knew what to expect from Pep Guardiola and his side, but they really impressed me. It’s like we forgot how good they can be because of how bad they were last season. People are starting to take notice now, however.

“I know it wasn’t the hardest game in Wolves, but winning away from home 4-0 on the opening day of the Premier League is no mean feat.

“It was the result of the weekend for me because no-one on Soccer Saturday mentioned them as title winners. Everyone is on Liverpool or Arsenal but the performance from City was a wake-up call for everyone.

“There will be bigger tests to come for them, that’s for sure, starting on Saturday against Spurs, but they were very impressive.”

Opening-day specialist Erling Haaland once again set the tone with a brace at Molineux. The Norwegian has now scored on each of his four Premier League opening days.

He tapped home at the back post from Rico Lewis’ cross to open the scoring, before adding his second with a sweeping move that involved both Reijnders and Oscar Bobb.

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Summer signing Reijnders also marked his debut with a goal, latching onto Bobb’s through ball and finishing with composure, while Rayan Cherki came off the bench to round off the 4-0 victory with a thunderous strike.

Merson felt the collective display underlined City’s credentials, yet he also highlighted one individual for special praise.

“Tijjani Reijnders was impressive,” he said. “He made things look so easy and with good players around him at Man City, he’ll get better and better.”

The Dutch midfielder’s debut added an extra layer to what was already a dominant showing, with Erling Haaland scoring twice and City laying down an early marker. For Merson, it was a reminder that writing off Guardiola’s team is a mistake.

City return to action on Saturday when they host Tottenham, and Merson believes that fixture will provide a more accurate measure of their title credentials. But he was in no doubt about what he saw at Molineux.

“They were very impressive,” he concluded.