Three Key Takeaways: Jesus’ Brace Saves Manchester City vs. Swansea

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 05: Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus celebrates scoring the second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Swansea City at the Etihad Stadium on February 5, Manchester, England. (Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images)

Manchester City earned a crucial three points on Sunday after defeating Swansea City 2-1 at the Etihad in late fashion.

Pep Guardiola‘s side thumped West Ham United on Wednesday 4-0 away from home, while Swansea defeated Southampton 2-1 a day prior.

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Guardiola made a few changes to his line-up, keeping Nicolas Otamendi and Bacary Sagna out of the starting 11, and bringing Fernandinho and Gael Clichy in. Gabriel Jesus kept his spot as the main striker, which forced Sergio Aguero on the bench for a second consecutive match. Willy Caballero kept his place in the City goal, forcing Claudio Bravo on the bench again.

The Brazilian put City ahead 1-0 after just 11 minutes as he slotted home a loose ball in the box. It was his second goal in as many matches, as City dominated early. Yaya Toure came close to doubling City’s lead in the 22nd from a right footed free-kick but Lukasz Fabianski saved the effort beautifully.

City took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break, knowing they needed another goal or two to avoid any Swansea comeback.

However, Swansea fought back to equalize in the 81st as Glyfi Sigurdsson‘s left footed strike found the bottom right corner. Willy Caballero did his best to reach the effort, but was an inch or so from saving it.

Knowing they needed a late push to earn a winner, Manchester City fought and were rewarded. David Silva‘s 92nd minute cross was headed by Jesus and saved by Fabianski, but the Brazilian tapped home the rebound for a match-winner.

It was Jesus’ third goal in his last two matches for Manchester City, which gave his side the three points. Despite 69% of the match possession, Manchester City only had five efforts on goal. Fabianski made three saves, while Caballero made one.

It was City’s 11th consecutive home league win over Swansea, according to BBC Sport and it didn’t come at a better time.

Following the late dramatics at the Etihad, here are my three key takeaways from the win.

1.) Gabriel Jesus is quickly making a name for himself.
After his heroics in the Summer Olympics for Brazil, the world began paying more attention to the 19-year-old phenom. With three goals in his last two league matches, Jesus is quickly becoming a favorite with the City fans. He is forcing Guardiola to keep Sergio Aguero on the bench, which surprised the media and fans alike. His energy is superb, while his creativity with and without the ball is another element to City’s attacking play. Right now, I cannot see Jesus being dropped to the bench with the form he is in. If he continues to score at this rate, he may be City’s best signing of the last couple seasons.

2.) Going forward, City need to be more aggressive with leads.
A main problem that seemed to continue was Manchester City’s content holding a 1-0 lead. After going up 1-0, they continued to fight for more goals but were unable to break down Swansea’s stubborn defense. Ultimately their content let them down as Sigurdsson looked to have given the Welsh side a point. Pep Guardiola needs to motivate his players to play with 110% at all times. They need to score more goals and have an aggressive look to them if they want to be a dominant force. Against West Ham they were great, going up 3-0 at halftime. Results like that need to be duplicated or else in the future we could see City living on the edge.

3.) What is Aguero’s role with the team going forward?
A world-class striker like Sergio Aguero isn’t the type to be on the bench for long. I feel in future matches, Pep will have to play the Argentine either with or without Jesus. To be a more attacking side, I think Aguero and Jesus should play together. They both are deadly forwards, and Jesus has the versatility to play out wide like he did for Palmeiras. With F.A. Cup and Champions League ties approaching, look for Pep to try to use Sergio Aguero more for the good of the team.

Next: Fabian Delph: Manchester City's New Defensive Midfielder?

Manchester City’s third-straight win in all competitions sees them jump up to third place, only a point behind Tottenham. They now have a longer wait until their next league match, as they travel to Bournemouth on February 13th. They conclude the month with an F.A. Cup tie at Huddersfield Town on the 18th, before hosting French outfit Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 draw.