Shaun Wright-Phillips was left impressed by Matheus Nunes’ performance in the Champions League on Tuesday night, especially as he pulled off one difficult accomplishment.

Manchester City got their first win in the new Champions League format, seeing them climb to fourth in the table, as they easily swept aside Slovan Bratislava 4-0.

Ilkay Gundogan got the ball rolling when he scored his first goal since returning to the club after eight minutes and when Phil Foden doubled the lead shortly afterwards, the game was all but over.

Erling Haaland bagged his 11th goal of the campaign after the break and there was time for James McAtee to score his first senior goal for the club as well.

The scoreline should have been even bigger but Pep Guardiola will no doubt be satisfied to see his side come through unscathed, win comfortably and some of his key players feeling their way back to form.

You would call it a stroll in the park, yet, despite the inferior competition, City didn’t put in any less effort as they ran their opponents off the field.

City players made up five of the top six runners on the pitch, with Matheus Nunes topping the list. It was a stat that impressed Shaun Wright Phillips.

Matheus Nunes puts in the hard work vs Slovan

Nunes had an underwhelming debut campaign after his £54m transfer from Wolves and it looked like he could be heading in the same direction as Kalvin Phillips.

However, though chances have been hard to come by, the Portuguese has made an impact in his rare minutes on the field this season.

After a fine goal and assist in previous games, Nunes’ running caught the eye of Wright-Phillips on Tuesday, as he racked up a total distance covered of 11.54 km.

What really stood out to the former City winger is that Nunes managed to put in such a shift despite City having nearly all of the ball, 73% of it, in fact.

“It’s nice to see Nunes up there,” Wright-Phillips’ said on the club’s coverage after the game.

“Nedum [Onuoha] hit a point while we was chatting earlier on, the fact that we’ve had all possession of the ball for him to do all the running he’s been doing is a good sign.

“To run 11-12km in a game when you have all the ball, it’s harder to do than people think.”

Nunes just beat out Gungoan and Rico Lewis, who clocked in at 11.29 km and 11.14km, respectively, while Savinho ran 10.46 km and John Stones managed 10.37 km.

Positive signs from Matheus Nunes

Nunes was also involved in a lot of City’s good attacking play, helping build attacks and sending some dangerous balls into the box.

Wright-Phillips saw positive signs in his first 45 minutes, though admitted he still needs to find some consistency.

He said at half-time: “[He’s] getting there.

“I think some people don’t realise sometimes when you haven’t played for a while or you’re not getting the minutes that you’re used to, that to play how you always used to play, it’s hard to get up to that speed.

“I think he’s getting there, he’s done a few nice things. But at the same time, he’s still missing that consistency and that match sharpness. That will come.

“The longer the game goes on, the more they give him the ball, the more he tries things he used to do, the more it will become normal again.

“I honestly think it’s fine, I quite like the way he plays and am looking forward to seeing him express himself a bit more.”

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