GABRIEL JESUS must have forgotten what it is like to lose a match. More than a year has passed since the Brazilian last tasted defeat in a club game, for either former side Palmeiras or Manchester City.
That is a run of 34 competitive games — with his incredible record reading P33 W27 D6 L0. Had it not been for Brazil’s World Cup qualifying defeat to Argentina in June, the striker’s record for club AND country would have stood at 43 without defeat, including 33 victories. Jesus’ last club loss was a 1-0 defeat to Brazilian side Santos when playing for Palmeiras way back on October 29, 2016. And with City flying in all competitions, there is no sign of his run ending any time soon. Jesus said: “Yes, I’m very happy to have gone all that time without losing a game — but it’s not only me. It’s thanks to the teams I have played in and the team-mates I have played with. “It’s good to reach that milestone of a whole year but I must keep working hard in the training sessions and keep performing well in the games.
“We know how important it is that we don’t lose focus on everything we are trying to achieve. We want to keep the momentum going, keep winning games and keep fighting for trophies at the end of the season.” Jesus’ run already includes one trophy. He did not lose in his final five games for Palmeiras in late 2016 as he led them to the Brazilian title.
He then joined City at the start of 2017 and his record with Pep Guardiola’s team is 29 games unbeaten across the second half of last season and the first part of this, in which City have yet to lose in their first 19 games. His 33-game streak — in which he has hit 20 goals — has seen the youngster give Guardiola a big decision over who should be his starting forward. Jesus, 20, has also been a key part in Brazil’s march to the World Cup finals. Where it will end is anyone’s guess as City sweep all before them — perhaps the congested fixture list around Christmas could be the killer when wins need to be ground out? But City showed another side of their game by “winning ugly” against Feyenoord in midweek. And Jesus reckons this will be crucial in their push for the Premier League. He said: “We know there might be games when we are going to win without playing that well.
“Some games we will deserve to win by playing good football. In others we’ll have to show character and win no matter how.” Jesus has also warned City strike rival Sergio Aguero that his long-term aim is to break the Argentinian’s club-record goal tally, which currently stands at 179.
Guardiola has said he is unlikely to pick both in the same team for the foreseeable future. That means the deadly duo must battle it out for one spot in the starting line-up for the next few months.
But Jesus — who has 17 goals in just 28 appearances for City — insists it is a friendly rivalry.
He said: “Sergio has broken an amazing record for City. I support him totally but I hope I can beat his record as soon as possible!”
From The Sun
No comments:
Post a Comment