Manchester City sealed a convincing victory over Sparta Prague in the Champions League last night – and it was quite an evening for Matheus Nunes.
Manchester City have moved up to third in the overall table after the thumping 5-0 win, and are looking good to automatically qualify for the knockout stages.
It was another very good evening at the Etihad Stadium for City, who really turned it on in the second-half.
Phil Foden gave City the lead, but it was a bit of a struggle to break Sparta down. They also offered a bit of a threat on the counter-attack.
But City ran away with it after the break, with Erling Haaland’s stunning acrobatic effort opening the floodgates.
There was a masterclass from Savinho for Man City against Sparta, and number of others enjoyed great displays.
But there was also a stunning performance from Matheus Nunes, who has surely made Pep Guardiola stand up and take note.
Matheus Nunes’ amazing stats in Man City win over Sparta Prague
Nunes operated mostly from the left against Sparta, which is a position he has found himself in on occasion before.
But against the Czech side, Nunes really was unplayable at times.
With both Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku unavailable through injury, he played from that left side and gave Ángelo Preciado and Martin Vitík serious problems.
Nunes carried the ball so well, and made use of his pace and dribbling a lot.
As per Sofascore, the Portugal international was heavily involved, having 89 touches in the game. Sometimes Nunes can be a little untidy in possession, but last night he impressively completed 61/64 (95%) passes. Three of those passes were ‘key’, and of course, he got two assists for John Stones’ goal and Haaland’s second.
Nunes also sought to get the ball into the box often, attempting seven crosses and completing three.
He was also very industrious, contesting 12 duels and winning eight of them.
And then at the end of course, Nunes ventured into the area and was brought down while playing in a cross. He confidently dispatched the resulting penalty.
Sofascore actually gave his performance a rare 10/10 rating.
- Who is Matheus Nunes? Get to know the midfielder
Nunes has finally arrived for Man City
This game with Sparta was a big audition for Nunes, and he seriously impressed with his performance.
He probably didn’t play the position most expected him to, but he grabbed his opportunity with two hands and he simply has to be in line for more regular minutes now. He has the dynamism to really make things happen for City in the final third.
The jury has been out for many over Nunes since his £53 million transfer from Wolves. We have only really seen glimpses of his talent so far.
But against Sparta, he truly announced his arrival as a Manchester City player.
The plan of action should now be very clear for Nunes. It is about being consistent and keeping his place in the side – he certainly has a strong case to be starting at the weekend against Southampton.
