Gabriel Jesus Scout Report At Manchester City 2019/20 – Tactical Analysis

Since his arrival back in July 2011, Sergio Agüero has scored at least 20 goals in every season for Manchester City except the 2012/13 campaign.

Agüero currently has 23 goals this season before football stopped due to the worldwide pandemic.

However, the Argentine will be 32 years old this summer.

A decline in performance surely will be around the corner and the Citizens need to find a replacement immediately.

Luckily, City don’t have to look further.

They have Gabriel Jesus, who they signed from Palmeiras in early 2017.

The 23-year-old Brazilian is currently knocking on Pep Guardiola’s door to be his main option as City’s centre-forward.

The question is, is he good enough?

This tactical analysis will inform you about G. Jesus’ role and impact on the Citizens.

Gabriel Jesus Style Of Play

G. Jesus is originally a centre-forward.

This season, he has scored 18 goals and made nine assists in just 39 matches for City.

Since he came from Palmeiras, G.

Jesus has played 139 games for the Citizens.

From all those games, the recently turned 23-year-old has managed to score 63 goals and made 25 assists.

Per the statistics, that’s equal to 0.63 goal contributions every game.

The Brazilian can also play as a winger, particularly on the left flank.

This season, he has played six games as a left-winger, including one against Real Madrid in the Champions League’s knockout round.

Usually, he will play in this position when Guardiola starts him and Agüero together.

This versatility is important as the manager likes to make experiment with his tactics.

Gabriel Jesus  Stay central

Pep Guardiolas manager style insists that G. Jesus stay in his position when City have the ball.

By staying central, G. Jesus would pin the opponents’ centre-backs with him all the time.

This would give City an advantage.

That advantage is an open space in between the lines since the centre-backs would most likely stay with G. Jesus and not move forward.

The space between the lines can then be filled with City’s advanced midfielder(s) and/or inverted winger(s).

Guardiola’s centre-backs or deeper midfielder(s) would then be tasked with finding their teammates between the lines with a vertical pass.

In that area, they can combine