Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has heaped praise on Matheus Nunes who produced a 'big career moment' in the Citizens' important 2-1 Premier League win over Aston Villa on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola's side were seemingly heading for a share of the spoils with their fellow Champions League-chasing counterparts at the Etihad Stadium until Nunes scored his first Premier League goal for City in the 94th minute to snatch all three points in dramatic fashion.
Nunes has come under some criticism for his performances in a makeshift right-back role this term, but McInerney has talked up his admirable work-rate and desire to adapt and impress under Guardiola.
"I'm delighted for him. Honestly, I've been a little bit critical of Nunes myself," McInerney told Sports Mole. "But one thing I can't deny is that he's willing, he works really hard, he takes his chances when he gets them to the best of his ability.
"He's been used in various roles other than his preferred one in central midfield - left winger this season, right winger a little bit, he's done a bit left-back, a bit at right-back. He's been everywhere apart from the place he'd want to play, but there's been no complaints.
"He's worked really hard and he's shown a willingness to learn and adapt to whatever the team wants for him. He might not be prime Kevin De Bruyne, but he's clearly a very talented footballer, clearly works really hard, clearly wants to succeed and I think these moments can be great for players.
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Nunes hoping to build confidence, stronger bond with City fans after Villa heroics
"They can be great for their confidence, for their development. He's not incredibly young but he is only 26, he's got time to improve and get better. Fernandinho joined Man City at 28 years old - I'm not saying he'll reach those levels, but you never know how far he can go.
"I think a moment like last night is a big moment for his personal Manchester City career. There'll be a stronger bond with the fan base, it'll feed his confidence, Guardiola will know he can be there for a big moment like that, and it shows great character to have that moment and to be there and be willing to put yourself in that situation after a mistake early on in the game.
"I was delighted for him because he seems by all accounts a very likable player, a hard-working one who wants to be here and he got his just rewards for his own bravery in the face of a little bit of criticism here and there."
McInerney believes that Nunes has responded well to public comments made by Guardiola, who recently stated that the Portuguese is "not clever enough" to play in midfield.
"[Guardiola's comments] could have knocked his confidence, yet he's still showing up and getting that moment and he's becoming a pretty good right-back, I've got to give him credit where it's due," McInerney added.
"There's the odd frailty here and there, but [Nunes is] a right-back, he's a Premier League level right-back against one of the best teams in Europe. He more than did himself proud."
Existence of "unashamedly unique" Doku is "a blessing to football"
Nunes was assisted by substitute Jeremy Doku, who once again impressed as an impact substitute and was labelled by Guardiola after the match as "the best player in the world in the first five metres", referring to his electric acceleration that was on show in the build-up to Nunes's winner.
"I think the fact that Jeremy Doku exists is a blessing to football," said McInerney. "We're in an era where players run and they're organised and it's all about risk mitigation and everyone's encouraged to keep the ball and so on, and Jeremy Doku is that kid in the playground who just wants to beat people, but he does it at an elite level and I just love him!
"Doku is so relentlessly impressive and fearless and there's a self-reflexive side to him as well where he wants to improve and I love it when he has moments [like he did against Villa] because Doku is unashamedly unique, he can't be categorised and I think Guardiola can't hold that back."
Asked whether he feels that Doku is pushing for a start after four successive substitute outings, McInerney said: "Those impacts that he's had, they're crucial and I'm a believer that everyone wants to start and play, but you can more than affect the future of a side and write yourself into folklore off the bench - [Ilkay] Gundogan famously [did so] against Aston Villa a few years back, people forget he was on the bench, he came on and he wrote himself into Man City history with those late goals.
"I don't know if Doku will reach that level, but it's not the only way to affect a team and he's still learning lessons, he's still improving even with these cameos and so on, and I'm sure he'll start some more games towards the end of the season.
"I don't think he's done anything wrong as such, I don't think Guardiola doesn't want to play him, he just wants to play in a different way and that's what Guardiola is currently doing given the fact that we've got so many big games. Guardiola is clearly reverting to the conservative approach where he wants to keep the ball and work teams and tire them out, because that's how he prefers to play.
"Doku and Savinho aren't really that. They are more aggressive, more assertive and I don't think it's necessarily the reflection of their talent, it's just a different approach.
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Doku helping City 'save millions' and is pushing for regular starts
"What I do know is that when you do play this way, when you do keep the ball and tire teams down and have 10 million passes, which is a Guardiola thing, there's no-one really better, not many people better in world football full stop, than Jeremy Doku to bring on towards the end to change the tempo so dramatically.
"I think and hope people in football realise his unique talents and I hope City fans do as well. I think they do, because as much as people talk about his end product and so on, he's clearly getting better. He's a better player than he was when he first joined in my opinion and he's not even played in a peak Manchester City side yet, a side where everyone's got the energy to get around and move and make themselves available for passes.
"I think he's done himself no harm for getting some starts towards the end of the season, maybe in the Club World Cup too. I think he's a cracking footballer, incredibly unique footballer, I've never seen a dribbler as aggressive as Doku in my life. I'm 39 years old and I've never seen anyone dribble like Doku. He might not be the world's best dribbler - maybe that would be [Lionel] Messi - but the most aggressive and the most consistent probably."
McInerney has suggested that Doku's game-changing impacts off the bench in City's last two wins over Everton and Aston Villa will ultimately help the club save "tens of millions" if they qualify for next season's Champions League - City currently sit third in the Premier League and four points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea with four games remaining.
"What a fantastic and exciting player and I'm glad that he's getting his plaudits," he added. "[In the last] two games, I would argue that he's turned [them] in City's favour and that's probably the difference of tens of millions of pounds for Manchester City, given Champions League qualification. I'm happy for him, delightful footballer!"
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.
Oliver Thomas
