Manchester City vs Swansea City. Premier League.
Etihad StadiumAttendance54,065.
Monday 6 February 2017 00:14, UK
Two-goal hero Gabriel Jesus struck in injury time on his first home start as Manchester City beat Swansea 2-1 to move third in the Premier League table.
The Brazilian teenager, preferred to Sergio Aguero for the second game in a row, tapped in the winner two minutes into added time, having opened the scoring with a close-range volley after 10 minutes.
Gylfi Sigurdsson's 81st-minute strike looked to have rescued a point for Swansea, but the 19-year-old Brazilian stole back the headlines as his sensational start to life in the Premier League continues.
The result sees Manchester City leapfrog Arsenal and Liverpool in the table, one point behind Tottenham, but still 10 points shy of leaders Chelsea. Swansea remain in 17th, one point and one place above the relegation zone.
After being left out of the 4-0 win over West Ham on Wednesday, Claudio Bravo and Aguero were again condemned to substitute roles by Pep Guardiola, meaning goalkeeper Willy Caballero and forward Jesus both started for the second game in a row.
And it looked a smart decision within 10 minutes as the young Brazilian opened the scoring after a dominant start from the home team.
Captain David Silva was the architect, battling past two players on the by-line and crossing low for Raheem Sterling to bundle the ball into the path of the teenager to score his second goal in as many games.
Lukasz Fabianski produced a fine save as he tipped over a goal-bound Yaya Toure free-kick on 22 minutes and the City midfielder then miscued horribly wide in attempting to volley home a Silva corner.
Swansea - unchanged after the midweek win over Southampton - somehow survived until half-time only one goal behind and Sigurdsson almost curled them level shortly after the break, but his brilliant free-kick was touched onto the post by the sprawling Caballero.
The woodwork was rattled at the other end by Leroy Sane's low cross and Alfie Mawson headed a Sigurdsson corner wide as Swansea, who introduced new signing Luciano Narsingh for the final 25 minutes, grew into the game.
And Narsingh was the provider as Swansea equalised with nine minutes remaining, playing a sideways pass to Sigurdsson, who took a touch before striking low across Caballero from the edge of the penalty area.
City may complain that substitute Nathan Dyer was in an offside position and blocking the goalkeeper as Sigurdsson scored, but the goal was just reward for an improved second-half display from the away team.
Aguero replaced Sterling for the closing minutes, but it was Jesus who would be the hero with the winning goal in injury time.
Silva sent in a left-footed cross from the right and Jesus timed his run brilliantly to head at Fabianski, who palmed the ball back into his path and he gleefully tapped in from a yard at the second attempt to seal the points and cement his status as the Premier League's most exciting new player.
City and their new hero are next in action against Bournemouth on Monday Night Football, while Swansea will seek to bounce back in a relegation clash with Leicester live on Sky Sports next Sunday.
Player ratings
Man City: Caballero (7), Stones (6), Kolarov (6), Clichy (6), Fernandinho (7), Toure (6), Sterling (6), De Bruyne (7), Silva (8), Sane (8), Jesus (9)
Subs: Zabaleta (6), Aguero (n/a), Fernando (n/a)
Swansea: Fabianski (6), Naughton (5), Fernandez (5), Mawson (7), Olsson (6), Cork (5), Carroll (6), Sigurdsson (7), Fer (5), Routledge (6), Llorente (6)
Subs: Narsingh (6), Dyer (6), Borja Baston (n/a)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus
