Gabriel Jesus rediscovered his scoring touch in outstanding fashion on Tuesday night as the Brazilian bagged a brace in Manchester City’s 4-1 win over Burnley.
With Sergio Aguero injured and the Manchester derby looming it was the perfect time for Jesus to end an eight-game goalless run, and City will hope it is the start of something more for a player whose career in England has been marked by peaks and troughs.
Here the PA news agency takes a look at some of those highs and lows.
Pep Guardiola speaks to Gabriel Jesus at the end of his Manchester City debut against Tottenham in January 2017 (Martin Rickett/PA)
HIGH – A little over a week after completing his £27million move from Palmeiras in January 2017, Jesus made his first City start in a 3-0 FA Cup win away to Crystal Palace. The performance prompted Pep Guardiola to hail his front three of Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane as “the future of the club” – comments which fuelled speculation over Sergio Aguero’s standing in Guardiola’s plans.
LOW – On February 2017, making only his fourth start for City, Jesus suffered a broken metatarsal just 15 minutes into the match at Bournemouth. The injury was initially expected to rule him out for the rest of the season, though he would return in April and make a further five starts, including two in the same 11 as Aguero.
HIGH – Jesus made a fast start to the 2017-18 season, capped by a brace in the 5-0 thrashing of 10-man Liverpool on September 9 as he again threatened Aguero’s place as the first-choice striker.
Gabriel Jesus suffered a knee injury at Crystal Palace on New Year’s Eve, 2017 (Steven Paston/PA)
LOW – After scoring in a 2-0 win at Leicester on November 18, Jesus failed to find the net in his next 10 appearances – five of them starts – before suffering knee ligament damage in a goalless draw at Crystal Palace on New Year’s Eve, sidelining him to the end of February. He eventually ended what had grown to a 14-match goalless run with a strike in the 2-1 home defeat to Basel in the Champions League on March 7.
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HIGH – With Aguero battling knee injuries, Jesus finished the 17/18 season as Guardiola’s first choice as City secured the Premier League title. Jesus scored in four straight games in April before his stoppage-time winner at Southampton on the final day of the season saw City become the first Premier League club to secure 100 points. In the summer, the Brazilian was rewarded with a new contract until 2023.
Jesus’ dramatic late strike at Southampton saw City reach 100 points for the 2017/18 season (John Walton/PA)
LOW – Jesus’ heroics at St Mary’s counted for little as the new campaign began and he found himself restricted to just two league starts before Aguero was sidelined by a hamstring injury at the end of November.
HIGH – With Aguero back, Jesus pushed his claims for more involvement with a fine start to 2019, scoring eight goals in five games including four in a 9-0 rout of Burton in the League Cup and a brace in a 3-0 Premier League win over Wolves. But his momentum would be slowed by a hamstring injury suffered in February.
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