Rui Patricio saves three penalties as Wolves win pre-season trophy in Asia

Wolves came out victorious against English Premier League champions Manchester City on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

And it was Rui Patricio that stole the show, with his impressive showing in the penalty shootout as he pulled off three strong saves to give Wolves victory in the Premier League Asia Trophy, as well as showing some of his qualities throughout the match too.

Indeed, as is likely to be expected, Manchester City dominated proceedings for large spells of the game, but Patricio showed dominance between the sticks.

In the 13 minute, for example, Patricio was quick to come off his line, snuffing out a Sterling chance as he got down low to block the ball. His commitment to the cause came at a cost though, as he took a nasty knock to the face in the process, leading to a lengthy stoppage in the game.

City were then awarded a penalty in the 20th minute, but Sterling blazed the ball over the bar from the spot, preserving the Wolves clean sheet. Sane then dragged his shot wide in the 35th minute, before Patricio met a low cross by the German in the 45th minute to end another promising attack.

Wolves were therefore under a lot of pressure in the first half, although did have a fair few chances of their own, particularly towards the end of the half, and managed to go into the break level with some good defensive work.

Wolves certainly grew into the game in the second half, and had several good chances of their own, while Ruben Vinagre also showed some of his qualities when he came on as a second half substitute.

The match ultimately came to penalties though, and that is where the most capped Portuguese goalkeeper in history showed his composure and came up big when required.

After seeing Claudio Bravo save Connor Coady’s penalty, Patricio responded in the perfect manner, pulling off a very similar stop to City’s goalkeeper, diving to his right to parry away Gundogan’s tame effort.

Bennett then converted for Wolverhampton, putting Wolves ahead, and Rui Patricio kept that lead intact, this time diving to his left to keep out David Silva’s low shot.

Kilman then missed for Wolves, firing wide, giving Manchester City the chance to get on level terms - and they scored, Patricio getting a hand to it, but failing to keep the ball out. It was the first goal Patricio had conceded in the entire pre-season tournament.

Perry then beat Bravo, slipping as he struck the ball, before Garcia sent Patricio the wrong way to put the shoot-out back on level terms.

Ruben Vinagre was next to step up, taking the all-important 5th penalty, and he slotted it into the bottom left corner.

The bruised-faced Patricio knew that if he saved the penalty, Wolves would emerge victorious - and for the third time on the night, he shielded the goal, parrying out City’s effort to get Wolves’ pre-season preparations off to a pleasant start.