Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus has spoken to the Brazilian media after the 7-0 win over Schalke 04 in the Champions League last night.
The 21-year-old was brought on by manager Pep Guardiola in the second half, and managed to score a goal.
Interviewed by Esporte Interativo, Gabriel Jesus had a lot to say about his current status in the squad, as he’s been mostly left on the bench, waiting for chances to shine again.
“I think I have to enjoy every time I go on the pitch,” Gabriel Jesus told Esporte Interativo. “Of course in the last games I’ve been coming in at the end, today I had a little more time.
“I always respect the decision of the manager and the teammate who is playing, which is Sergio today. I respect his moment very big, and he comes in exceptional form. He has helped us a lot by scoring important goals. So what I have to do is work, work more and more, with the focus that I’ve always had, so when I have the opportunity, play and try to score.”
“I think very good. I think it’s excellent. I confess that sometimes I’m not as patient as it seems. But I prefer to keep it to myself and work day-to-day. Try to get my space more and more. I believe that when you have what happened in my life, in my career, which was an avalanche, then stop, you have to know how to handle it. That’s what I’m doing, learning to deal with it. Wanting to work more, evolve more. And I believe I’ve been doing this.
“Today I find myself very calm on the pitch. Mistakes will happen all the time, I’m sure, everyone makes mistakes. And I always try to do it right. So today I believe I’m more calm on the pitch. Trying to know, to understand my football more. So I believe that’s it, I’ve been working a lot every day, I’ve been focusing more.
“I had a minor injury recently, which made me very upset because it never happened to me. Anyway, when you don’t play so much, it gets more complicated when you end up having an opportunity to play the whole game. It passed. Now I focus, keep working, focused, when the team needs me, I’ll be at their disposal.”
Gabriel Jesus now has 17 goals and four assists in 37 appearances this season. He’s reached the same amount of goals he managed in the 2017/18 season.
That makes it very likely that even though he’s been sitting on the bench, he’ll have his best scoring season for Manchester City.
