City’s win over Bournemouth, sealed courtesy of a 97th-minute winner from Raheem Sterling, saw them play four at the back for the first time this season. Pep Guardiola shuffled his pack, making four changes from the side that drew with Everton, with Sergio Aguero dropping to the bench and leaving Gabriel Jesus to lead the line on his own.
It’s never easy to play as a lone striker, but Jesus’ movement and willingness to drop deep and involve himself in the team’s build-up play make him suited to the task. Against Bournemouth, he was far from his best, but he scored City’s equaliser with a superbly taken finish and pulled the home side’s defence in all directions with his constant running. He’s almost impossible to pick up, such is his intelligence off the ball.
His goal owed much to a brilliant throughball from David Silva that sliced the Bournemouth backline in half, but his finish – first time and on the turn – was expertly done. It was the latest example of his brilliance inside the 18-yard box.
But the Brazilian continues to show he is more than a fox in the box. He completed 90 per cent of his passes at the Vitality Stadium and linked City’s play brilliantly. The Every Touch video, compiled by CityTV after the game, highlights his ability with his back to goal. He dropped deep numerous times and laid the ball off to City’s cast of attacking midfielders just behind him, often with a trick or flick thrown in for good measure. Guardiola demands his players never stop running and Jesus fulfils the criteria.
His hold-up play and backheel that set up Fernandinho inside the area was excellent, as was his turn on the edge of the box in the second that created a shooting opportunity. But it’s perhaps his desire to press the opposition that makes him such a valuable asset to a Guardiola side. Jesus never once let the Bournemouth players settle when they had possession, chasing and harrying them, making life difficult at all times.
His record for City makes impressive reading. He has played 14 games the Club, scoring eight goals, and in is yet to suffer a defeat. The draw against Everton was his 12th league game and saw him break the record of longest unbeaten start to a Premier League career, previously held by City’s EDS boss, Simon Davies. Not only is he a fine forward, he appears to be City’s lucky charm.
It’s easy to forget he’s just 20 years old. City have a potential world star in their midst.
