City swoop for Erling a problem for Gabriel
JESUS MAY HAVE TO BE NO.2 AGAIN NEXT SEASON
Not every risk paid off but he was dangerous in the final third and effective whenever he could shake man-marking.
He was commanding and stylish in the first half, and thumped home the opener as his prolific season continues.
Didn’t have an awful lot to do, but made sure his team-mates knew when they had done something right or wrong.
Looked at home on the left of a three-man defence. Made some key interceptions in the box and kept Mitrovic quiet.
He found space high up on the left wing on his first league appearance since December.
Business as usual for the business student, slotting straight back into the team after a midweek rest.
One of the most intelligent players occupied space all over the pitch and his ball retention was integral to City’s control.
Looked rusty, unsurprisingly after so little football of late, but improved as the game went on and won the penalty.
Spent most of his time on the left wing. After a subdued first half he was a livewire in the second.
He was another with signs of rustiness, but a goal and a first 90 minutes since February 2020 are all positives.
FERNANDINHO: (Bernardo, 66): Very little to do with the game won. 6
GARCIA: (Dias, 75): His first Premier League action since November. 6
NOT USED: Steffen, Zinchenko, Walker, Foden, Gundogan, De Bruyne
ON a day on which the rumours that City are favourites to sign Erling Haaland took on a little more substance, Pep Guardiola chose to showcase his two current strikers at Fulham.
On the stat sheet, Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero did themselves no harm, scoring a goal apiece to keep up their stunning record of averaging nearly two goals in every game in which they have played as a pair.
It is a system the Blues boss has picked up before, then discarded, and then tried again, with different personnel.
Aguero should benefit greatly from getting 90 minutes under his belt for the first time in more than a year, and his goal - even though it was from the penalty spot - will have felt good, after such a long spell without hitting the back of the net.
Jesus was his usual livewire self, his incessant running veering wildly in effect, proving troublesome and unnerving for Fulham one moment, and pointless and aimless the next.
He also got his reward, seizing on an error in the Fulham defence and keeping his nerve to score, something he does not always do in those situations.
But City are in the market for a new striker this summer, with it looking increasingly likely that Aguero will either end or at least wind down his legendary career at the club.
Haaland has to be the prime target. The pieces all fall into place - he is a natural predator, a team player and has an impeccable work rate - in other words, the perfect line-leader for the Blues.
The fact he supported City as a boy, and has a strong connection through his dad Alf Inge, who played for them in the Noughties, just adds to the attraction.
The release clause is £90m, and few clubs can afford that in the tighter financial era which pandemic football has heralded.
City can do, and the fact they do not need to spend on any other position would make a one-off club record fee a small spend for them.
If the Blues do land Haaland, and there are strong whispers that they have moved smoothly into pole position, ahead of United, it would probably mean Aguero moving on.
Guardiola has repeatedly said the Argentine will choose the moment when
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he leaves the club - but there is little room for sentiment in this manager’s squad, and the player himself probably senses his time is coming to a close, and he could negotiate himself a lucrative new deal, being available on a free transfer.
Haaland’s arrival would signify the passing of the baton from a legend to a player who, along with Kylian Mbappe, is the hottest young property in world football right now.
But for Jesus, that move would pose a dilemma, which he should accept as a challenge.
Instead of stepping up into Aguero’s boots, the Brazil No.9 would start next season as number two to the new boy, a second-fiddle position he has had to get used to under Kun.