“Cafu regen”, “Man is on heat!” – Manchester City fans go crazy on social media after defender’s 10/10 performance | OneFootball

Matheus Nunes has received huge plaudits for his outstanding display in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening.

The Portugal international is in a fine run of form at right-back as Manchester City cope with life beyond Kyle Walker – who left the club midway through the 2024-25 season and joined Burnley on a permanent basis this summer.

Abdukodir Khusanov has also been entrusted at right-back by Pep Guardiola since his arrival from RC Lens in January but the Uzbekistan international is currently injured as Manchester City undergo a period of transition after a significant revamp of the first-team squad in the summer.

Nunes, who joined Manchester City from Wolves in 2023, has been deemed incapable of operating in midfield – his natural position – for the Blues by Guardiola, who famously labelled the 27-year-old as the best midfielder in the world when Nunes was still playing for Sporting Lisbon in 2022.

Despite impressing in Manchester City’s attacking midfield in his debut season at the Etihad Stadium – when the Blues won a fourth successive Premier League title – Nunes was positioned to a makeshift right-back last season as Walker lost his place in the starting XI.

The Portuguese star operated at left-back and right-back as Guardiola turned to Nunes to play out of position to mitigate the loss of Walker, who joined AC Milan in January, as Manchester City endured their most challenging season under Guardiola.

Nunes was hit and miss at full-back last term, often impressing in what was a new role for the former Wolves man, and at times making calamitous errors that drew huge criticism from the Manchester City fanbase towards the 27-year-old.

There was speculation around Nunes’ future at the Etihad Stadium in the recent transfer window but the midfielder-turned-defender has slowly started to turn a corner and prove his doubters wrong with a string of impressive recent displays at right-back.

After giving Manchester City a crucial 2-1 lead in a Premier League win over Burnley in September, Nunes has been a regular feature in the starting XI as the Blues have maintained their rich vein of form and slowly climbed up to second place in the league table.

Nunes’ ascent has not gone unnoticed by Manchester City fans online, with the Portugal international enjoying arguably the best week of his career at the Etihad Stadium with 10/10 displays in wins over Everton and Villarreal.

The ex-Sporting man is in line to retain his place in the starting XI when Manchester City take on Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday, with Guardiola and co looking to keep up the pressure on title rivals and current league leaders Arsenal.

The praises should be sung as loud as the criticism and after the barrage of abuse Nunes received last term for failing to live up to expectations in a makeshift role, Manchester City fans are finally giving the right-back his flowers.