Jesus saves Manchester City’s title hopes

DON’T MAKE ME COME DOWN THERE — Jesus is Brazilian and has shown similar flashes of greatness as compared to fellow Braziilian International, Neymar Santos Junior. Jesus has represented Brazil at the Under 20, Under 23 and Senior squad levels, where he has scored 11 goals in a total of 27 appearances. (WikiMedia)

New Cityzen wonder kid shines on debut, to give the Etihad stadium a reason to cheer

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side encountered turbulent waters a few games back in the season, due to some tough losses which they encountered in their quest for Premier league glory.

With a world class roster, coupled with arguably the best manager in the world of competitive soccer, city fans had high hopes coming into the season.

Regardless of recent form, the Etihad stadium in the past few days have had reasons to celebrate, primarily because of the arrival of Gabriel Fernando de Jesus.

Jesus arrived from Palmeiras F.C. at the end of the January transfer window. He was acquired from the Portuguese club, where he tallied 47 appearances in all competitions, scoring 16 goals.

The 19 year old was acquired for a sum of around € 32 million. He was regarded as one of the top prospects, soon to make a major move either to the premier league, Bundesliga or even to the La liga side.

Wearing the number 33 on his back, it was surprising to see him starting in the game against West Ham F.C. In the game, Jesus started over star-striker Sergio Aguero, who currently has 11 goals scored in the premier league this season.

Jesus made his mark by setting up Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne in the seventeenth minute of the game. David Silva made it a two goal lead in the twenty-first minute and the team kept hunting for more. Jesus then got on the scoresheet and was quick to prove his worth, by scoring the third goal in the game. Yaya Toure scored the final goal from the penalty spot, slotting the ball into the net, in the sixty-seventh minute.

The fixture eventually ended in a 4-0 victory, where Jesus was voted to be the man of the match—quite the dream debut.

In the second game, Manchester City went up against a very physical Swansea team. In this game, Jesus earned his second consecutive start, in as many games. Showing that he is already well adjusted to the physicality of the Premier league, he played a major part in the team’s 2-1 victory over Swansea, being that he scored both goals in the win. In this fixture, he was also voted to be the man of the match.

Pep had some great thing’s to say about his new signing. “Some guys need a lot of time to settle in, to know the league, the teammates, and others settle immediately,” Guardiola said. He went on, “Now we have to protect him, but everybody is a bit surprised by his level.”

Now, the City side has a world class striker in Aguero and two promising young talents in Jesus and Kelechi Iheanacho.

The team is now third on the league table and is away from the first spot by ten points. Their next game is against Bournemouth F.C., where they will be hoping to continue their recent form with a win.