Gabriel is City’s angel
Gabriel Jesus, without a league goal since August, found his touch yesterday with a double against Everton which gave Manchester City a 3-1 win.
With Christmas just around the corner, it was the perfect time for Jesus to make a reappearance for Manchester City.
While City have scored goals from all angles, Gabriel Jesus has been suffering a drought. He has missed chances, hit the woodwork and seen his confidence dip.
But after a run of 11 Premier League games without a goal stretching back to August 19, he bagged twice to see off Everton.
They were enough to send City back above Liverpool at the top of the league ahead of the Merseysiders’ clash with Manchester United this afternoon.
Perhaps it was the sight of Sergio Aguero, back from injury after missing the last four games, that spurred Jesus into action or now having his family living with him in England.
Either way, City manager Pep Guardiola was thrilled that the 21-year-old came back to form.
“It is so important for him,” he said. “Strikers need to score goals. He has done the same today as he has in other games, but the difference is he has scored the goals and he’s done it in a fantastic way.
“It was so valuable his performance. “This was a tricky game after the Champions League with less than three days’ recovery. In our minds, we knew we would suffer until the end. It was an incredible effort.”
It could have been very different early on as City began quietly and Everton missed a glorious opportunity.
Only a quarter of an hour had been played when Lucas Digne stood up a perfect cross to the back post for Richarlison, in space only seven yards out, but the Brazilian volleyed over. It sparked City into life and England No.1 Jordan Pickford was at full stretch to prevent Michael Keane from turning the ball into his own net at the end of a slick move.
But they were ahead soon after. Yerry Mina’s loose clearance put his side in trouble and they were punished as Leroy Sane slipped in Jesus, who did the rest, and the relief for the Brazilian was palpable.
Pickford then kept his team in the contest with an instinctive stop to keep out Riyad Mahrez’s volley.
But it wasn’t long after half-time that City extended their lead. Sane was again the provider with a delicious cross and Jesus got in between Keane and Mina to bullet a header past Pickford.
Everton needed to respond and they pulled one back with their first effort on target as Dominic Calvert-Lewin climbed highest to head in Digne’s cross.
Raheem Sterling had begun the day on the bench, but was summoned by Guardiola and within three minutes, he had settled the game with his first touch of the ball.
But the winger would admit a debt of gratitude to Fernandinho, whose selfless run and cross meant Sterling could not miss as, unmarked, he headed in from five yards.
Seven days after Sterling was on the end of racist abuse at Chelsea, it was a perfect reminder of his quality on the pitch.
Guardiola said: “I see Raheem so calm. He has handled many situations and rumours in the last few years.
“People saying not nice things about him, his family or in that case, the colour of his skin. That is why I admire him. He is calm, happy and he is loved in the locker room.”
To the visitors’ credit, they kept coming forward late on, but Richarlison, sub Theo Walcott and Calvert-Lewin all passed up good chances. And it was that lack of potency in front of goal that frustrated Everton manager Marco Silva.
“City deserved the three points as they were more effective than us,” he said. “The chances they created, they scored.
“Until their first goal, the game was within what we expected and planned. They did not shoot once. The biggest chance until that moment was Richarlison’s chance. It was a big, big chance. After that it changed.”