Manchester City took a gigantic step towards Champions League qualification on Tuesday night.
The Sky Blues beat top five rivals Aston Villa 2-1 at the Etihad, with Bernardo Silva breaking the deadlock early, only for Marcus Rashford to equalise from the penalty spot soon after.
Nevertheless, just as the game seemed set to fizzle out to a stalemate, Jérémy Doku’s trivela cross across the box found Matheus Nunes at the back post, and he poked home a dramatic stoppage-time winner.
This propelled Pep Guardiola’s team up to third, ahead of Sunday’s huge FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest, seeking to reach a third consecutive final.
One Man City star in particular impressed on Tuesday night, suggesting he could stake a claim to be first choice next season.
Manchester City planning for next season
As Kevin De Bruyne continues to wave farewell to Manchester City, he really put on a show on Tuesday night, creating six chances, the 60th time the Belgian has registered five or more chances created in a Premier League match, the most by any player since Opta records began.
However, De Bruyne is not the future of this side, having announced he will be leaving at the end of the season, and, after a difficult campaign, Guardiola is surely already making plans for the summer.
Full-back has been a problem position for Man City all throughout this season, following Kyle Walker’s sudden exit in January, while numerous players have been deployed at left-back.
Thus, as noted by Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News, the Citizens have a ‘longstanding interest’ in Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso, expecting a bid to be made this summer, with Tuttosport reporting that la Vecchia Signora value the player at around €80m (£68.5m).
However, could the emergence of one star save the Sky Blues a lot of money, as he continues to impress at right-back?
Manchester City's long-term right-back
Matheus Nunes’ last-gasp winner against Villa capped off an impressive night from the Portuguese international, as the table below outlines.
Minutes played
90
=1st
Accurate passes
88%
6th
Dribble success %
100%
=1st
Ground duels contested
7
=4th
Tackles
2
=1st
Defensive actions
3
=6th
Sofascore rating
7.3
=3rd
Nunes has been deployed all over the pitch this season by Guardiola, central midfield and left-wing among other positions, but has found a home at right-back, starting ten of the last 14 Premier League matches in that spot.
In his player rating piece for the Manchester Evening News, Simon Bajkowski gave Nunes a 7/10, noting that he made a ‘needless error’ for Villa’s equaliser, reflecting the fact he is still learning how to be a right-back.
Nevertheless, Guardiola has previously stated that Nunes “is one of the best players in the world today”, with Loay Mamdouh of Breaking the Lines impressed by his ‘decision-making’ as well as his ‘technical and physical attributes’.
Back in January, Graham Ruthven of Forbes asserted that Nunes ‘doesn’t have the defensive instincts of a natural full-back’, but this is offset by the fact he offers ‘plenty in possession’, with the Portuguese international having improved since then, so let’s assess how he compares to Cambiaso.
Appearances
35
37
Minutes
2,320
2,532
Goals
4
2
Assists
9
3
Progressive carries
87
92
Take-on Success %
53.6%
62.5%
Pass completion %
87.5%
89.3%
Chances created
30
33
Duels Contested
219
210
Aerial Duel Success %
44.8%
37.5%
Ground Duel Success %
45.6%
53.2%
Tackles
46
47
Clearances
29
20
Interceptions
19
16
Ball Recoveries
86
134
Touches per 90
62.71
63.16
As the table outlines, Nunes and Cambiaso’s statistics this season are remarkably similar, as noted by FBref.
In a near-identical number of minutes, the duo are extremely comparable when it comes to the vast majority of statistics included, with the Man City man coming out on top in terms of goals and assists, as well as duels contested, aerial duals, clearances and interceptions.
Thus, rather than spending upwards of £65m to recruit Cambiaso this summer, Guardiola should show faith in Nunes, entrusting him to be Man City’s right-back going forward.
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1 ByJoe Nuttall