Pedro Pereira struck his first senior goal on Sunday for Bristol City in a 2-2 draw with Wigan Athletic, and has been showing maturity in his recent performances believes assistant coach Jamie McAllister.

The 21-year-old arrived on loan from Benfica in the summer for the season, and the right-back has started the last two games for City following injury to Lee Johnson's first-choice Jack Hunt.

The defender rose at the near post to head home a corner from Niclas Eliasson in the 86th minute to grab a point for the Robins in a game where set pieces were made to count.

On the defender, McAllister said: "He's getting his opportunity now with Hunt being out of the team and his last couple of performances have been excellent.

"He's shown real maturity in his performance and to get the goal was brilliant for him.

"He was holding back and we were screaming on the bench to get forward. He didn't even break stride as Nic delivered, he just took it in his stride and stuck it in with a great header.

"It's great for him, a good little confidence booster and hopefully he can keep putting in the performances he has done."

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The Portuguese youth international made 21 appearances for Sampdoria before transferring back to Benfica where he had spent time as a youngster and made one appearance for the Portugal giants in 2016-2017.

In  2017-2018, the defender appeared once for Benfica B and made six appearances on loan for Genoa, before appearing 27 times on loan for the Italian side last season.

The Verdict

Pereira has stepped up for Bristol City when they were lacking the options at right wing-back in Jack Hunt's absence.

The loanee has taken the chance with some style after some excellent displays against Charlton Athletic and Wigan, his energy down the right side of the pitch coupled with his ability at both ends of the pitch showing the City fans that he has the quality to play in the division.

If Pereira continues to keep up his high standards over the next couple of weeks, then he has given Johnson a selection headache once Hunt returns from his injury.