JESUS THRICE SUPERSTAR striker hits quickfire treble
City’s Brazil
Olmo 10
GETTING out of Croatia with no fresh injuries might have been the primary objective for Manchester City last night.
But having Gabriel Jesus boost confidence levels with a well-taken hat-trick was a happy by-product as City wrapped up their Champions League group stage in style.
The Brazilian needed a little over an hour to wrap up his three goals – taking his tally to 10 for the campaign – and his third was the 500th of Pep Guardiola’s City reign.
Phil Foden, who was excellent throughout, stabbed home a fourth from six yards out to complete a fourth win in Group C.
With fixtures at Arsenal and at home to Leicester before Christmas and updates on a return date for Sergio Aguero still vague, goals for Jesus would have warmed Guardiola on a freezing night in Zagreb.
City had already wrapped
Jesus 34, 50, 54, Foden 84 up top spot in the group so Guardiola would not exactly have been relishing this trip – but it did offer the chance to get the defeat to United out of their systems.
Judged on that criteria alone it was a job well done.
Guardiola made eight changes from the team who started Saturday’s derby against a team unbeaten at home all season and who went into the match still with a chance of going into the knockout stages. And Dinamo had a near perfect start getting on the scoresheet after 10 minutes. City have made some defensive blunders of late but this was not one which will need to be picked apart on the analysis board back in Manchester.
Damian Kadzior whipped in a curling left-foot cross perfectly in between Nicolas Otamendi and Eric Garcia which Dani Olmo volleyed high past Claudio Bravo from eight yards.
City took their time to respond but on 35 minutes Jesus headed them level after Riyad Mahrez made it to the right byline, turned the ball on to his left foot and hung up a cross at the far post that the Brazilian nodded home.
Dinamo were aggrieved City had not stopped play earlier in the move as Petar Stojanovic appeared to injure himself.
But given it was in an attempt to trip Foden it seemed like justice had been done – which was more than could be said for Amer Gojak’s blatant elbow into Rodri’s face when they challenged for the ball in front of the dugouts just before the break.
Despite City’s protestations Gojak escaped without a caution.
Within five minutes of the restart Jesus had his second, wriggling through bodies on the left side of the box and steadying himself before calmly chipping a ball over Dominik Livakovic.
Then he met Benjamin Mendy’s cross from the left to sidefoot home from close range.
Within 10 minutes Jesus was sitting on the sidelines, wrapped in cotton wool with Sunday’s trip to Arsenal in mind.
He was replaced by Oleksandr Zinchenko for his first appearance since surgery on a knee injury sustained in mid-october – and the first of what Guardiola will hope will be a rush of big players back from the treatment table soon.
P W 6 4 6 2 6 1 6 1
D 2 1 3 2
L F A Pts 0 16 4 14 3 8 12 7 2 8 13 6 3 10 13 5