Micah Richards has had pity on one Man City star, for whom the going hasn’t been so great this season.
Manchester City made a winning return to action on Sunday after beating Bournemouth 2-1 win the FA Cup quarter-finals, booking themselves a place in the semis where they face Nottingham Forest later in the month.
It promises to be a tough game for Pep Guardiola’s side who just a few weeks ago lost 1-0 away at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side currently sat in 3rd place of the table compared to City in 5th.
An FA Cup win could be a redeeming factor in an otherwise dire season for Man City who’d previously set the bar so high for themselves, that anything short of dominance would be deemed a failure.
And Pep largely has his players to blame. It seems like age has caught up with a few of the City stars, although the players would beg to differ with Bernardo Silva denying that Man City’s squad is too old after the win over Bournemouth.
Photo by ANP via Getty Images
Photo by ANP via Getty Images
Micah Richards’ brutal verdict on Matheus Nunes at Man City
Whilst age may have played a factor in this season’s downfall, there’s others who aren’t what you’d consider to be ‘old’ but who have underperformed for City this season, one such player being Matheus Nunes who’s often a source of criticism among Man City fans this season.
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Man City paid Wolves £53million to sign Nunes in 2023 – more than they paid for Erling Haaland. The 26-year-old Nunes has since made 60 total appearance for Man City, scoring three goals and assisting 13 more, with four assists and no goals in 19 Premier League games this season.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football, former Man City defender and fellow right-back Micah Richards has suggested that Nunes is the weak link in the side right now, saying: “It worries me, though, Forest, in all honesty, just because the very good counterattacks out there, and that’s Man City’s weakness, I would say.
“I think, bless him, Matheus Nunes at right-back. It’s just, I don’t like saying out of his depth, because he’s a midfielder filling in, obviously getting rid of [Kyle] Walker. Rico Lewis being in and out, but I just, I worry, I worry on a counterattack.”
Matheus Nunes may already be eyeing up Man City exit
Nunes has certainly been tested this season. And it’s not just the fans who’ve vented their anger at him but the players too, with Haaland fuming at Nunes against Spurs earlier in the year after the Portuguese international’s poor attempt at a pass.
Ahead of a summer of change, Nunes could be one who’s moved on or who even looks to move on, with Nunes saying he wants to return to Sporting CP one day in the future. He said earlier in the year: “Obviously I want to come back, and I’ve said that several times… I’m not going to say dates, obviously, I’m not going to estimate that, but obviously I’m going to come back.”
Still in his prime years, Nunes might fancy a big move now whilst his stock is still relatively high and before he gets too old to go on and be a hit somewhere else.
Man City are back in Premier League action against Leicester City on Wednesday night.