Gabriel Jesus has proven that he is still very relevant at Manchester City as he gave a man-of-the-match performance against Norwich City on Saturday, August 21, 2021.
Though coach Pep Guardiola used Jesus as a winger in the Premier League game instead of in his usual center-forward role, the 24-year-old Brazilian striker was the most outstanding player on the pitch.
Jesus played so well that the brilliance of Manchester City’s new signing, Jack Grealish was not prioritized. Though the Brazilian did not score a goal, he was involved in almost all the five goals Manchester City scored against Norwich.
In three of the five goals Manchester City scored in the Premier League game, Gabriel Jesus laid the ball into the eighteen yard box that led to the goals. At the end of the game, he recorded two assists which were enough to earn him the man of the match award.
Gabriel Jesus’ brilliant performance came when Manchester City are planning to sell him this summer to raise money for the purchase of Tottenham Hotspur striker, Harry Kane.
Recall that Manchester City have already offered Tottenham a whopping £100 million for the services of the England international but the London-based club rejected the bid.
Yet, Manchester City believes that if they return to Tottenham with an improved bid, the club might be tempted to sell the English striker. Hence, Jesus is reportedly listed as one of the superstars at the club that might be sold to actualize Pep Guardiola’s desire of bringing Kane to Manchester City.
But with Gabriel Jesus’ performance on Saturday against Norwich City, Guardiola might have a rethink about letting the Brazilian striker leave this summer.
After Manchester City defeated Norwich City 5-0, coach Guardiola told BBC Sport how important Jesus is in the squad and praised him for not always complaining.
He said: “If one person deserves respect and prizes and everything, it is him [Jesus] because he never complains. He is fantastic and all of us have to learn from him.
“He can play as a striker, he can play left, he can play right – always what the team needs. He can play 10 minutes from the bench and he will play the best 10 minutes he can play…
“He has so much importance for me. It’s not just when he makes an exceptional performance like today, it’s every day.
“One of the reasons why I am a manager in the best moments of my career, apart from the titles and trophies, is because you can work with people like Gabriel. He is an incredibly important player for us.”
🖐 goals
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 21, 2021
3️⃣ points
❌ clean sheet
Watch all the best bits from our emphatic win at the Etihad! 🎥
🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klUGiM pic.twitter.com/6aL0wKgHsB
Pep Guardiola did not only praise Jesus, but he also said Man City are scary
Manchester City started the 2021-2022 season on a losing note after falling 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League opener last week.
After the game, the Spanish tactician insisted that it was too early to doubt the capacity of his team to deliver this season.
On Saturday, August 21, his team proved that their 1-0 defeat a week ago was just an accident by demolishing Norwich City 5-0. The beauty of the game was that Manchester City’s record signing, Jack Grealish was on the scoresheet.
“One week ago, we are not contenders to win the Premier League. Now we are scary!” Said Guardiola.
“Listen, we are the same team except for Sergio, who went to Barcelona, and Jack coming in. We are the same guys and the same team we were last season – and last season was exceptional.”
