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Gary Neville believes Manchester City's last-gasp winner at Wolves is a warning to their title rivals, as Pep Guardiola's side continues to display an air of inevitability in their Premier League campaign.
City looked set to drop points at Molineux, but a controversial injury-time header from John Stones secured a dramatic 2-1 win. The victory keeps City just one point behind Liverpool, who beat Chelsea 2-1 at Anfield later that day.
"It's moments like this, even early in the season, that make you think, ‘they're going to do it again,’" said Neville on The Gary Neville Podcast, referencing Stones' crucial goals, including a late equaliser against Arsenal last month. "They have a habit of pulling it off in the big moments, and this was one of those moments."
Neville also reflected on similar instances from previous seasons, like Oscar Bobb's late goal at Newcastle last year, which seemed to mark another step in City’s unstoppable march to the title. "Watching that last year, I thought, 'here we go again, they're going to win the league,'" Neville added.
City’s ability to "get over the line," as Neville puts it, remains a defining characteristic, and their celebrations with the travelling fans after the Wolves match showed just how important those three points were.
Despite acknowledging the strong performances from Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield, Neville feels it is Arsenal who pose the greatest challenge to City's title defence. "Would these two teams [Liverpool and Chelsea] win the title? I don't think so," he said.
Neville believes Liverpool's defensive issues could be their Achilles' heel, despite their current form. "I'd like to assess them at Christmas, but I still think they're short," he said. As for Chelsea, Neville dismissed their chances, stating, "Chelsea are short, they're not going to win the league."
Arsenal, however, are seen by Neville as City's closest challengers. But their 3-1 defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday, where William Saliba was sent off in the first half, leaves them three points behind City. It's the third time this season Arsenal have had a player sent off, with similar struggles in games against City and Brighton.
Neville concluded, "You can't afford to fall too many points behind City if you're going to challenge them."