Two unheralded players have become extremely important for Manchester City

Manchester City picked up an important 3-1 win over Bournemouth yesterday at the Etihad Stadium. There was a host of impressive performances put in by several players for City yesterday. Erling Haaland , Rayan Cherki , Phil Foden , Nico O’Reilly, and Bernardo Silva put in crucial displays for their team. As did Nico and Matheus Nunes . In the case of Nico and Matheus Nunes , the pair have become important players for their team. Their importance to Pep Guardiola’s side was on full display yesterday at the Etihad.

As Rodri continues to work his way back to full fitness, Nico has become an important player for his team. He has taken to the number six role well , and his emergence as a player means Manchester City can take a cautious approach with Rodri’s return from injury. Aside from that, Nico has grown as a player over recent games. Yesterday, against Bournemouth, he played arguably his best game of the season against a quality opponent.

Nico played a key role in both of Manchester City’s first-half goals scored by Erling Haaland yesterday. He held off the Bournemouth press and picked out Rayan Cherki with a quality chipped ball that Cherki headed on to set Haaland clear to score his team’s opening goal. It was Nico’s ball that picked out Phil Foden , who played a ball to Cherki, who again set Erling Haaland free to score Manchester City’s second goal. But there was much more to Nico’s game than the two pieces of play that led to goals for his team yesterday.

Nico read the game well in midfield and won his duels when required against Bournemouth’s midfield. He wasn’t phased by Andoni Iraola’s sides press, and he helped his team win the midfield battle that was so pivotal to yesterday’s match. The Spanish midfielder is growing as a player, and he arguably put in his best performance of the season against Bournemouth. Nico is now an important player in the City set-up. Without him, they likely don’t beat Andoni Iraola’s side at the Etihad.

Another player who played an important role in Manchester City’s win over Bournemouth was Matheus Nunes . The Portuguese international didn’t put a foot wrong at right-back yesterday, and fittingly, come the end of the match, he was being serenaded by the Manchester City fans. That says all you need to know about Matheus Nunes’ recent displays and his importance to Pep Guardiola’s side.

Matheus Nunes kept the sizable threat of Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo largely in check during yesterday’s match. At his best, Semenyo is a powerhouse winger who is a goal threat and can take a game away from Bournemouth’s opponents. The pace and physicality of Matheus Nunes were key to his team keeping Semenyo quiet during yesterday’s match. That was a key factor in City limiting the attacking threat of Andoni Iraola’s side. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe just how well Matheus Nunes played at right-back yesterday. There is solid argument to be made that it was one of, if not, the best performance of Matheus Nunes career at right-back for Manchester City .

As so often is the case, Erling Haaland has stolen the headlines with his brace against Bournemouth yesterday. Aside from Haaland’s brilliance, Nico and Matheus Nunes showed just how important they have become to Manchester City . They both put in superb performances to help their team pick up a vital win and they also showed how crucial they have become to Pep Guardiola’s side.