Gabriel Jesus is Manchester City's saviour as double strike sinks brave Swansea
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ByEurosport
Updated 05/02/2017 at 16:55 GMT
Premier League, Etihad Stadium – Manchester City 2 (Jesus 11, 90+2) Swansea City 1 (Sigurdsson 81)
Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus celebrates scoring their second goal with Pablo Zabaleta
Image credit: Reuters
Gabriel Jesus scored twice as Manchester City moved third in the table with a 2-1 win over Swansea at the Etihad Stadium.
City manager Pep Guardiola opted to start the Brazilian wonderkid ahead of Sergio Aguero for the third consecutive game and the 19-year-old repaid his manager’s faith after only 11 minutes when he broke Swansea’s resilience.
The hosts were completely rampant in the first-half but Swansea held firm and somehow made it to the interval only trailing by a goal.
Paul Clement’s side improved after the break and their tenacious performance was almost rewarded when Gylfi Sigurdsson levelled the scores on 81 minutes with a low strike past the reach of Willy Caballero, who once again took the place of Claudio Bravo.
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Gylfi Sigurdsson in action
Image credit: Reuters
No one was going to spoil Jesus’ day however and the youngster ensured his side moved into the top three when he struck in the second minute of added time to win the game for City.
Pep Guardiola's side are now two points clear of Arsenal and one ahead of Liverpool after both suffered defeats on Saturday.
Swansea - who have recently enjoyed wins over Liverpool and Southampton - remain a point above the relegation spots.
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Manchester City's Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Swansea City at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, o
Image credit: AFP
TALKING POINT - How special is Gabriel Jesus?
Special enough to take the place of one of the Premier League’s best-ever strikers in Sergio Aguero whose days look numbered at City. It is clear Pep Guardiola is looking to the future and the early signs indicate that his decision will be justified. Just how far the Brazilian can go remains to be seen but Jesus looks like he has all of the attributes of a world-class player.
MAN OF THE MATCH - Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
Scored two goals any poacher would be proud of but there’s much more to his game than just putting the ball into the back of the net. He linked up superbly with his team-mates throughout, causing Swansea endless problems with his vision and creativity.
PLAYER RATINGS
Manchester City: Caballero 6, Stones 6, Kolarov 7, Clichy 6, Fernandinho 7, Toure 7, Sterling 6, De Bruyne 7, Silva 8, Sane 7, G. Jesus 8. Subs: Aguero N/A, Fernando N/A, Zabaleta 6.
Swansea City: Fabianski 7, Olsson 7, Mawson 7, Fernandez 7, Naughton 6, Cork 6, Fer 6, Carroll 7, Sigurdsson 8, Routledge 6, Llorente 6. Subs: Gonzales N/A, Dyer 5, Narsingh 6.
KEY MOMENTS
11’ - GOAL! After a period of sustained pressure City finally take the lead - and it's their wonderkid who makes the breakthrough. Silva wriggles his way into the penalty area before finding Sterling who bundles the ball to Jesus and the 19-year-old tucks it away.
22’ - SAVE! Fabianski does well to get across his goal and palm Toure's free-kick over the bar. City have yet another corner.
47’ - GREAT SAVE! Sigurdsson curls the ball around the wall and forces Caballero into a top draw save. Swansea have a corner now.
62’ - CLOSE! City fail to track the run of Sigurdsson from a corner but the Icelandic international can't keep his header down. That was an opportunity for the visitors.
82’ - GOAL - Swansea are level! A fantastic finish from their star man Sigurdsson may well earn the strugglers a point! The playmaker drills the ball into the bottom corner from 20 yards out!
90’+2 – GOAL, A LATE WINNER! Jesus wins the game for Manchester City with what could be the final kick of the game! His header is blocked on the line by Fabianski but the keeper spills it and the wonderkid is there to bundle the ball over the line!
KEY STATS
- Manchester City have now won their last 11 home league games against Swansea.
- Since his Premier League debut, only Yaya Toure (16) has scored more goals from outside the box than Gylfi Sigurdsson (13).
- Gabriel Jesus is the fifth player to score on his first two Premier League starts for Man City (Geovanni, Robinho, Adebayor, De Bruyne).
- Manchester City have made 80 changes to their starting lineups this season, at least 15 more than any other Premier League side.
- Swansea have now lost their last 11 away league games at Man City, last winning there in March 1951.
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