You know how it is with naughty boys at this time of year. They don’t get any presents from Santa and they certainly don’t get to play against Newcastle away.
Pep Guardiola set tongues wagging after City’s 4-0 dispatching of Eddie Howe’s rudimentary relegation strugglers on Sunday, rejecting the suggestion that changes from the 7-0 midweek romp against Leeds were made on the grounds of rotation.
“Not rotation, no. I decided for this team because they deserved to play today, these guys and not the other ones,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“At Christmas time I pay a lot of attention to behaviour on and off the pitch. And when off the pitch is not proper they are not going to play.”
Names were not named, but plenty of focus inevitably fell upon Jack Grealish, City’s record signing who ended a long fallow spell in front of goal by heading the Blues’ second as Leeds were dismantled.
It should be noted Guardiola frequently makes references to “behaviour” when describing how players react to his demands during training (see the Pep maxim of “no bad faces ”), but a report by The Telegraph on Monday night confirmed Grealish and Phil Foden attended a nightclub after the Leeds game and City were "unhappy with the condition in which they reported the next day for a recovery session".
If you were to draw up a list of City players unlikely to err in such a fashion it would be pretty long and Gabriel Jesus would be somewhere near the top.
“It’s difficult to find anywhere in the world a striker like Gabriel,” Guardiola said of Jesus two years ago, one man who never fails to impress the manager when it comes to work rate and application.
“The number nine for Brazil, his behaviour in training is outstanding and he has to fight with one of the best strikers I have ever seen in my life in [Sergio] Aguero.”
One thing that has changed since Guardiola made those comments in 2019 is Jesus’ status as a No.9. He still wears the number on his back but, for club and country, he has been rejuvenated as wide forward.
He was restored to his old position at centre-forward for the win over Newcastle (needs must when lads are on the naughty step, eh?) but the 24-year-old has generally been deployed as a tactically astute, hard pressing right-winger this term.
The extent to which he has impressed while carrying out the new brief is illustrated by the fact no one really seems to mind that he is missing chances and not scoring too often.
The most recent of his two Premier League goals this season came at Chelsea in September and an expected goals (xG) figure of five in the top flight ( as per FBref ) means he is the biggest under-performer in the City squad in terms of finishing.
Jesus has scored three times in the Champions League, but a player of his calibre should really be contributing more in a side where the goals are shared around by necessity.
One of the reasons his drought has gone under the radar is the scrutiny applied to £100million man Grealish. Despite largely impressing as a false nine, he missed a hat-trick of very presentable chances in the 3-1 win at Watford earlier this month before spurning a glorious opportunity in the tense 1-0 victory against Wolves.
Asked prior to the Leeds game whether “you and the team in general” were maybe being a touch profligate, Grealish saw through BT Sport’s attempts at diplomacy.
“Me, yeah definitely,” he chuckled. “I couldn’t hit a barn door at the moment.”
But 13 minutes in against Leeds and he was able to punish a Whites' defence as wide open as the draughtiest outbuilding.
It is hard to imagine Jesus speaking with such entertaining self-deprecation when it comes to his fortunes in the penalty area. Martin Dubravka’s remarkable point-blank save to deny him on Saturday brought a familiar look of pure undiluted anguish to the Brazilian’s face.
“I can only talk about me [and] when I’m not happy with me I want to shoot myself in the head because it's difficult for me,” he said in December 2019, following a tough run that included penalty misses for Brazil and City. The remarks did not feel like they were played for laughs as Grealish’s were.
He continued: “I take it [personally] of course. I think, ‘Oh my God I have to score, I have to score, I have to score’. When I have the chance sometimes I miss because I think too much and put too much pressure on myself.”
Jesus has proved himself once again to be an invaluable member of Guardiola’s squad this season. He is still relatively young and you would hope the capacity to give himself a break will develop in time.
His 87 goals in 215 appearances come at an average of 0.6 per 90 minutes — not bad at all for a man who seems consumed by every chance that goes begging.
The £27m fee agreed with Palmeiras for his services in 2016 remains one of the bargains of the Guardiola era. Going easier on himself, being a bit more Grealish, feels like it would be a positive behavioural step. Within curfew, of course.
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