Manchester City have gone two points clear at the top of the Premier League table after a 3-1 win over West Ham United.
Pep Guardiola‘s side defeated the Hammers at the London Stadium to continue their great start to the 2024/25 campaign.
Erling Haaland is once again grabbing all the headlines, scoring another hat-trick for Manchester City. The Norwegian hit three more goals, just as he did the weekend before against Ipswich Town.
City historically tend to start new seasons slowly.
But this has been an impressive opening few games, with Haaland in sensational form thus far.
It was an evening full of positives – and one man it was good to see making an impression was Matheus Nunes.
Exit-linked Matheus Nunes impresses against West Ham, Kalvin Phillips reacts
There has been a bit of speculation about the future of Matheus Nunes in recent weeks.
The Portugal midfielder struggled to make an impact in his first season at the Etihad Stadium following his £53 million transfer from Wolves.
He was reportedly the subject of interest from Atletico Madrid recently, but nothing materialised.
Nunes could yet leave City, with the player having interest from Saudi Arabia. Their window remains open.
But he’s been reported to be keen to stay and fight for his place and City, and wants to make his move a success.
Someone who took a similar stance last year was Kalvin Phillips. That turned out to be a mistake, and it could be that Nunes has a similar journey.
But Nunes did make a good contribution against the Hammers yesterday, as he came off the bench to set up Haaland for his hat-trick. The star side-stepped Max Kilman in midfielder and jinked past Vladimir Coufal before sliding in Haaland for the finish.
After the game, Nunes posted on Instagram, and Phillips – who got to know Nunes quite well with the pair being on the bench a lot – commented ‘Love it Nunesy’. He also included a blue heart for good measure.
Nunes has made a bold choice
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It is looking as though Nunes will be sticking with City for the first part of the new season, and that is a bold decision from the star, who apparently had interest from Premier League sides on transfer deadline day.
His assist for Haaland against West Ham was brilliant, and he showed his quality.
For many the jury is still out on Nunes, but he clearly does have the capacity to do special things. It is just about consistency with him.
We have seen his quality in flashes. But he doesn’t play all that much, suggesting Pep doesn’t see enough in training to warrant giving him more minutes.
But seemingly Nunes is ready to knuckle down and fight for his place, and that can only be a healthy thing for City. Hopefully he succeeds.
