06 March 2024 , 22:59
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Manchester City star Matheus Nunes suffered a gruesome finger injury during their otherwise comfortable Champions League victory over Copenhagen.
Having won the first leg 3-1 in Denmark, Pep Guardiola's side breezed through to the quarter-finals thanks to another emphatic win by the same scoreline, this time courtesy of goals from Manuel Akanji, Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland. Nunes was handed his third start in City's last four games by Guardiola, having had to be patient since his £53million transfer move from Wolves last summer.
Midway through the second half, though, the 25-year-old playmaker slipped and landed awkwardly on his left hand. Nunes was then seen lying on the ground in severe pain with his middle finger bent out of place.
The Portugal international was quickly substituted for youngster Micah Hamilton and after having his fingers strapped up will hope to be available for Sunday's mouth-watering clash with Liverpool. A win would take City two points ahead of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table, but a defeat would leave them four points adrift.
Images of Nunes' injury did the rounds on social media, with one fan admitting: "I thought Nunes was just being a bit soft at the time. Just saw his finger *puke emoji*."
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But former City goalkeeper Shay Given quipped on BBC Radio 5 Live: "As a goalkeeper, I played on with a dislocated finger and Matheus Nunes has gone off with one tonight. Maybe I'm old school."
All in all it was a positive night for the holders, who did much of the hard work in the first leg. In round two at the Etihad on Wednesday, the hosts led 2-0 inside the first nine minutes through strikes from Akanji and Alvarez before ex-Southampton and Celtic winger Mohamed Elyounoussi finished off a dazzling Copenhagen attack to pull a goal back.
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This is the injury that Matheus Nunes suffered after slipping against Copenhagen (TNT Sports)Haaland, however, restored City's four-goal advantage on aggregate just before half-time, notching his seventh goal in three games. After the win, Guardiola told TNT Sports: "We're into the next round. Still we are there in this competition. It was difficult to attack them (Copenhagen) because they are well organised playing four or five at the back."
City now await their quarter-final opponents, with the draw due to take place at 11am next Friday (March 15). "Listen, we're competing with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich," the Treble-winning boss added. "We don't know who we are going to face. It's a question of wait and see. The important thing is seven years in a row we are there."