|
Striker Gabriel Jesus has vowed to reclaim penalty duties at Manchester City after being axed by manager Pep Guardiola following a series of misses. Jesus' failure against Sheffield United was his third of the season, prompting Guardiola to order Ilkay Gundogan to take the spot-kicks in the FA Cup tie with Fulham on Saturday. The Germany international converted an early penalty during the 4-0 win after Jesus had been brought down by Fulham defender Tim Ream, but afterwards the Brazil international said he is determined to earn back Guardiola's trust. "Normally the manager puts on the paper in the dressing room before the game who are the penalty takers, last game I was the penalty taker and here normally I am the taker but today it's Gundo," Jesus said. "That's football. Sometimes you have to stop, improve and come back strong. "In the training sessions I take them and I score more than I miss. "If I take five I miss one and sometimes I don't miss. In games it's been different. I've taken three this season -- two here and one with the national team Brazil -- and I missed all three. "When you miss three in a row you go to the next one under pressure to score. So that's the challenge. I have in my mind that I have to train more and improve more of course." Despite relinquishing penalty duties, Jesus still scored twice as City eased past Fulham to take his season tally to 16. The 22-year-old is expected to return to the bench when Manchester United visit the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday for the Carabao Cup semifinal second leg with Sergio Aguero ready to return after he was an unused substitute on Sunday. City are leading 3-1 from the first leg at Old Trafford and are looking to seal their place in the final at Wembley for the third year in a row but Jesus has warned his teammates against any complacency. "The first game doesn't matter," said Jesus. "We never know what can happen so we have to focus on United too and play well and qualify. "Wednesday is going to be a tough game, difficult for us, difficult for them so we have to play amazing again to qualify for the final."
|
