Pep Guardiola explains sudden Matheus Nunes substitution during Wolves defeat 

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed the reason for replacing midfielder Matheus Nunes at half-time on Saturday afternoon.

Nunes started at Molineux, returning for the first time since completing on a £53 million move to the Etihad Stadium on Deadline Day, just one year after Wolves signed the midfielder from Sporting Lisbon for a club-record fee.

The 25-year-old was part of a lacklustre Manchester City side which crashed to a first defeat of the Premier League campaign on Saturday afternoon, as a Ruben Dias own goal and second-half strike from Hwang Hee-Chan secured a surprise victory for Gary O’Neil’s side.

Wolves, who were winless since August prior to beating the Blues, inflicted a second consecutive loss on Pep Guardiola’s side, abruptly ending the treble-winners’ impressive start to the new season.

Manchester City had won their opening six league matches, but have now suffered successive losses, after a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

The Sky Blues face a challenging set of upcoming fixtures, with Premier League games against Arsenal, Brighton, Manchester United, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham, between October and December.

Guardiola is also contending with an injury crisis, as Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and John Stones all remain sidelined, alongside Rodri’s current three-match suspension.

The Manchester City manager dramatically replaced Nunes at half-time on Saturday afternoon, bringing on 20-year-old Oscar Bobb, who starred against Newcastle on Wednesday evening.

Bobb, who’s second-half appearance was just the Norwegian’s third Premier League showing, has made five senior appearances for Manchester City so far this season.

Eyebrows were raised by some after Guardiola’s surprise half-time change, and post-match, the Catalonian explained the reason for the substitution.

“Oscar [Bobb] is really good to find in smaller spaces with the creativity he has to find someone. That was the reason, not because he was playing not good.

“I thought Oscar could give something different,” concluded Guardiola.