Photo: Wikimedia Commons (free licence), cropped and styled by SportNestra — author and licence
The Barça star has won Flick’s gamble on chaos, with Gabriel Jesus tipped to start against Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday. The coach could also choose Gordon to lead the attack. A starting place would give Jesus his first start in the Barça lineup, after Flick gave him that opportunity.
The case for Jesus is not limited to his threat in front of goal. He also makes life easier for his teammates. His career is likened to that of a boxer whose body bears the marks of many fights, who has announced his retirement several times but keeps competing on the strength of his experience.
A few weeks ago, in an interview with Catalunya Ràdio, Jesus summed up his approach: « Être un attaquant qui participe à la défense fait partie de mon ADN. » In the same conversation, he spoke of his appetite for unpredictability: « J’aime beaucoup semer le chaos avec le ballon et sans lui. Quand je suis là, il se passera des choses. »
The possibility of starting against Galatasaray follows his recent appearance against Getafe, where Jesus played 81 minutes. The question now is whether he will keep his place in the starting lineup for the European fixture.
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