In Manchester City’s victory over Championship team Watford, Matheus Nunes netted his first goal to help Pep Guardiola’s team advance to the EFL Cup third round.
A precise first-half finish by Nunes followed Jeremy Doku’s opening goal in the fifth minute, on a night when 16-year-old Kaden Braithwaite became the youngest player to start a game for City and the youngest under Guardiola.
Just over a year after being signed for £53 million from Wolves, Matheus Nunes has not had the expected impact.
The Portugal international only made seven starts in the previous campaign and has only played in three Premier League games as a substitute this season, totaling just 20 minutes of action.
Doku also benefited from Ryan Porteous’ clumsy initial backpass, which gave James McAtee the opportunity to rob Bond of possession. As the ball was recycled to the edge of the area, the Belgian applied the finish.
Christopher Nkunku scroes hatrick and performs iconic balloon celebration
In another game, League Two Barrow was easily defeated by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, thanks to a hat-trick from Christopher Nkunku, who helped Chelsea advance to the Carabao Cup’s fourth round.
In the eighth minute, Nkunku scored the first goal with a cool finish following a well-placed chip pass from Joao Felix.
The Blues led 3-0 at halftime after Felix’s free kick struck the post and bounced in off Barrow goalkeeper Paul Farman. The forward soon added his second goal with a deft flick to divert Malo Gusto’s low cross into the net.
Pedro Neto scored his first goal for Chelsea two minutes after the restart, tapping in following a cross-goal pass from Mykhailo Mudryk.
In the 75th minute, Nkunku finished his hat-trick by tackling goalie Farman and putting the ball in an empty net.
The 26-year-old Frenchman has six goals in eight Chelsea appearances this season, all thanks to his first Chelsea treble. Since the hosts’ loss to Manchester City on the opening day of the season last month, Nkunku was making his first start for the team.
Image credit: @ManCity via X