April 23, (THEWILL) – Manchester City put the pressure back on Liverpool in the English Premier League title chase on Saturday with a 5-1 thrashing of Watford at the Etihad Stadium, thanks to four Gabriel Jesus’ goals.
With Liverpool not playing until the Merseyside derby on Sunday afternoon, City’s lead at the top of the table has grown to four points overnight.
Although Jesus stole the show, Rodri also scored a spectacular goal to complete the five-star performance of Pep Guardiola’s side. Meanwhile, Hassane Kamara gave Watford some hope in the first half when he finished an excellent move.
Guardiola’s charges broke the deadlock against Roy Hodgson’s struggling Hornets after just a few minutes of play. Only a few yards from goal, Jesus was on hand to convert Oleksandr Zinchenko’s assist for the opener.
Ben Foster made a double stop from Joao Cancelo and Jesus that kept City from extending their lead even further. Despite having the majority of possession, that opportunity came as a result of Zinchenko’s last-ditch tackle, which prevented Nigeria’s Emmanuel Dennis from going one-on-one with Ederson Moraes.
Kevin De Bruyne blasted an unstoppable cross into the box, where Jesus was unmarked to meet it with his head and double his tally.
Watford made a counter-offensive at that point. Joshua King dragged Ruben Dias out of position and Dennis recognised Kamara’s run into the free space. He released the ball to the full-back, who finished calmly beyond Ederson.
City wasted no time in increasing the goal margin further. Jesus regained possession high on the right, from where he located Rodri. Beginning outside the penalty area, the Spaniard moved in front of a downed De Bruyne to control the ball on his chest and fire a powerful shot into the top corner.
Jesus got his hat-trick with a penalty right after halftime, when he was rewarded for his perseverance and tenacity in holding off Kamara before being upended by Foster.
With only three Premier League goals to his name prior to kick-off, the Brazilian entered an exclusive company of players who have scored four goals in a single game, when he converted a De Bruyne pass with an easy finish.
Guardiola was able to begin resting players in preparation for Tuesday’s match against Real Madrid, with De Bruyne, Rodri, and Laporte all being substituted reasonably early.
There was still time for City to look to further increase the scoreline. Cancelo, Jack Grealish, and substitute Riyad Mahrez all had late attempts at goal, but the final score was 5-1.
Manchester City now lead the Premier League by four points, although that may be cut to a single point when Liverpool play tomorrow. Watford, on the other hand, are stuck in 19th place.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
