"That brother is a walking bozo gene", "He ruined everything" - Fans slam Manchester City star after their 2-1 loss to Brighton

Fans on X have faulted Matheus Nunes for his role in Manchester City's 2-1 dying-minute loss to Brighton & Hove Albion. Both sides were in action in the Premier League at the Amex Stadium on Sunday, August 31.

Erling Haaland (34') opened the scoring for the visitors, placing his strike in the back of the net after latching on to an attack which Omar Marmoush started. At the hour mark (60’), Oscar Bobb wasted a decent opportunity to extend Manchester City's lead, and the scoreline remained 1-0.

Five minutes later, Nunes handled the ball in the penalty box while attempting a block. After a review by the VAR, Brighton were awarded a spot-kick, which James Milner converted to make the scoreline 1-1 in the 67th minute.

One minute before regulation time, Kaoru Mitoma released a pass to Brajan Gruda. The latter dribbled past James Trafford and placed the ball in the back of the net. Thus, the game ended 2-1 in favor of the Seagulls.

Nunes started at right-back, and he played for 85 minutes before Rico Lewis replaced him. He made four clearances, won three out of three contested aerial duels, but lost possession of the ball six times (via Sofascore). The midfielder's handball led to the penalty that gave Brighton a lifeline during the encounter.

After the game, the 27-year-old was criticized on X, with some Manchester City supporters tweeting:

"This defeat is on Nunes,that brother is a walking bozo gene!!!.”

"Nunes ruined everything.”

Others posted:

"We were excellent for one hour” - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on the defeat to Brighton

Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester City - Premier League - Source: Getty

Reacting to the defeat against Brighton, Pep Guardiola claimed that his side were decent till the hour mark (60’). However, he complained about City's inability to win games, having suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats.

Guardiola said (via City Xtra on X):

"We were excellent for one hour, many things I like for many months - so I'm not complaining about... But we are not able to win games. And after the goal, we shift, we forgot to play, we were more thinking about the consequences, and that's why we could not win the game..."

Manchester City have registered only three points from three games in the league this season. They will return to Premier League action against Manchester United at the Etihad after the international break on Sunday, September 14.

About the author

Abel is an European football journalist who focuses primarily on analysis pieces and preview copies at Sportskeeda. A B.Sc degree holder in Economics, he has a previous work experience of 3 years – a year at Opera News Hub where he was promoted as a 'Verified Sports Writer,’ and over two years at Sportskeeda as a revenue-share writer, where his writing skills have ultimately led him to be integrated into the in-house team.

A Manchester United fan who grew up in a family of Red Devils supporters, he started his journey as an ardent football fan in his childhood. He used to spend hours watching the sport with his family and developed a knack for writing about the beautiful game over the years.

He is a huge admirer of Paul Pogba owing to the midfielder's ability to thread passes from anywhere on the pitch and his favorite manager is Jose Mourinho due to the Portuguese's tactical mind. He feels France's triumph in 2018 is his all-time favorite World Cup moment, and reckons Lamine Yamal and Endrick could replicate the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Abel always strives to verify information, especially statistics, before penning a word and offers constructive but not defamatory criticisms. Apart from Europe's top five leagues, he follows the Eredivisie and the Primeira Liga. He loves to spend his free time playing video games like EA FC and watching movies.

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Edited by Aditya Singh