Pep puts his faith in disparate duo

MANCHESTER, England — Pep Guardiola is certain Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero can play together for Manchester City despite suggesting it was a disaster when they first linked up.

Guardiola surprisingly started with Aguero on the bench as City moved a step closer to Champions League qualification by beating Leicester 2-1 at Eastlands on Saturday.

Third-place points ahead Arsenal with remaining as it top-four finish.

Jesus scored the penalty that put City two goals in front after David Silva had given it the lead with an effort that Leicester believed should have been disallowed for offside.

The Brazilian striker’s arrival from Palmeiras in January has cast doubt over Aguero’s long-term future at City, even though the Argentine has scored 31 goals this season.

The two forwards started together in the 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough on April 30, but struggled before clicking, and they had 12 minutes alongside each other against Leicester after Aguero came on as a late substitute.

“They played at Middlesbrough together, and in the first half it was a disaster. The second half was much better. Both have enough quality to see who wins the game for the side,” Guardiola said. City is three of fifth-place two games battles for a

“Gabriel can play on the left side if Aguero is in the middle. They can do that. In Brazil, Gabriel plays most of the time on the left.

“Of course they can play together. It depends on their behavior and mood.”

Jesus’ penalty means he has scored twice in three matches since returning after being sidelined nearly three months with a broken foot.

“We cannot forget that Gabriel was out injured for almost three months. It is still like he is in preseason a little bit,” Guardiola said.

“Gabriel is a guy who understands perfectly he has a lot of things to learn. He is openminded, he will do it.”

Guardiola’s squad had to work at beating Leicester, with Shinji Okazaki’s spectacular volley bringing the visiting side back into the game just before halftime.

Craig Shakespeare’s team looked set to equalize when Riyad Mahrez was tripped by Gael Clichy 15 minutes from the end, but the winger slipped as he scored the resulting penalty, touching the ball twice and causing the goal to be ruled out.

“In the second half, we didn’t know whether to attack or defend ... and it showed,” said Guardiola.

“You have to understand how important the game was for everybody.”