■ Bournemouth v Manchester City, Tuesday at midnight UAE time
Midfielder Yaya Toure has urged Manchester City not to put too much weight of expectation on young Gabriel Jesus’ shoulders, despite the Brazil forward’s stunning start to his career at the Etihad Stadium.
The 19-year-old Gabriel Jesus, who has been selected ahead of City’s top scorer Sergio Aguero by manager Pep Guardiola in recent weeks, has scored three goals and provided two assists in four games since arriving from Brazilian side Palmeiras last month.
“He is a very good player; very quick, sharp and clever. We realise we have to be careful, though, and we shouldn’t get too excited because he has to be focused,” Toure told British media.
“What we want to do is just continue to keep going and, at the end of the season, we can talk about him. We need to have young players because City are always a team who wants to win the league.”
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Midfielder Fernandinho has praised Gabriel Jesus’ mental strength, saying the youngster has remained level-headed despite the furore over his explosive form.
“I hope he can keep that level at least until the end of the season. As a young player you can sometimes drop your level,” Fernandinho said.
“He can play amazing, but he is good because his mentality is good, on the same level all the time — he is stable. We can help him stay at this level until the end of the season, and if he does, everyone will be happy.”
City, who are third in the Premier League, 10 points behind leaders Chelsea after 24 games, travel to face 14th-placed Bournemouth on Monday.
* Reuters
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