‘Fighter’ Jesus can bloom under the spotlight

PEP Guardiola praised the unique ability of Gabriel Jesus to improve City as the spotlight focuses on the attack without Sergio Aguero.

An injury to Aguero leaves the Blues without their club record scorer for at least the rest of their domestic campaign and potentially the whole season including the Champions League.

With the manager in the dark over whether the player intends to extend his stay at the Etihad beyond 2021.

Gabriel Jesus was bought in 2016 to be the long-term future of the club and continues to be a valuable member of the squad.

However, the Brazilian has failed to score any of the 15 goals the team have managed in the five games since the restart to add fuel to the suggestion that City will need more firepower to cope without

Aguero.

Guardiola believes his two strikers make an excellent pairing, but also praised the individual qualities of Jesus that create goals for the team even if he himself does not make it onto the scoresheet. “No-one can compare to Sergio and what he has done in his career.

“He is older than Gabriel. Gabriel gives us something that is perfect for me and for us,” the manager said. “They are complementary. What one guy has the other one maybe struggles [with] and the other has something that the other struggles [with].

“Gabriel has something that is unique in the world, he helps us to be more aggressive.

“He is a fighter and helps us and I remember how many goals we have scored the last four or five games thanks to him.

“Gabriel has something special for us but it is unfair to compare me as a manager with others, or compare players.

“We have to adapt his qualities to benefit him and the team.”