September 25th 2023.
Pep Guardiola had some strong words for Manchester City midfielder Matheus Nunes after their 5-0 win over Sporting CP in the Champions League in February 2022. He said Nunes is "one of the best players in the world today."
However, when prompted about his comments after City's win over Nottingham Forest, Guardiola admitted he may have been exaggerating.
"Maybe I over-exaggerated a little bit," Guardiola said. "He's not one of the best players in the world. He's a really good player, but sometimes... maybe I said this comment after a 5-0. But he's an exceptional player. Exceptional, exceptional player."
Despite backtracking on his words, Guardiola praised Nunes for his impressive start at City.
"Really good," he said. "Sometimes I say stay more calm in the position [but he is] dynamic. In the game today he'd get the ball, dribble and drop the opponents down. He looks like he is never tired because his actions are 15, 20 metres, but we knew it at Sporting Lisbon, has done it as well at Wolves. We asked [Julen] Lopetegui, who is a friend of ours, how is he and all the opinions were really, really good and he's special as a runner, has good finishing, defensively, can play in two or three positions.
So, despite his initial strong words, Guardiola remains impressed with the work Nunes has done since signing for City in a £53 million deal from Wolves in the summer. He believes that the midfielder's performance in the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest was a "key point" and "really, really important" for him and the team.
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