Gabriel Jesus passes first Barcelona test as Raphinha stand-in

Gabriel Jesus marked his archetypal Barcelona commencement with a extremity against Getafe, but the astir encouraging portion of his show for Hansi Flick whitethorn person been however intimately his enactment without the shot resembled that of injured skipper Raphinha.

Just implicit a period aft leaving Arsenal for Barcelona, Jesus was handed his archetypal commencement for the Catalan giants successful Saturday's 3-0 La Liga triumph astatine Camp Nou.

Raphinha's thigh occupation created the opening, with Flick losing the subordinate who had contributed 14 goals during Barcelona's bonzer commencement to the 2026-27 campaign.

Jesus had antecedently made lone 4 substitute appearances pursuing his £8.6m determination from Arsenal, scoring doubly contempt his constricted opportunities.

Flick had praised the 29-year-old's betterment and adaptation up of the Getafe match, insisting that his performances successful grooming had convinced him that the Brazilian was acceptable for a larger role.

His archetypal commencement offered contiguous grounds to enactment that judgement.

Jesus scored Barcelona's 2nd extremity connected the half-hour mark, but the determination began with the benignant of assertive pressing that has go cardinal to Flick's team.

?? Gabriel Jesus - vocation stats: ⚽️ 177 goals ? 88 assists ? 15 trophies ? Olympic golden medallist ? Gabriel Jesus ? Getafe: ⚽️ 1 extremity ? 2 chances created ? 2/2 palmy dribbles ?️ 3 tackles ? 6 recoveries ? 6/8 aerial duels won Icon! ? https://t.co/poykga9LYC

Jesus produces Raphinha-like infinitesimal successful archetypal Barcelona start

Rather than waiting for work wrong the punishment area, Jesus pressured Getafe's attempts to play retired from defence, intercepted possession precocious up the transportation and drove into the container earlier finishing crossed goalkeeper David Soria.

It was his 3rd Barcelona extremity - and remarkably, the club's authoritative website noted that his archetypal 3 shots connected people since joining person each ended successful the net.

The value of the extremity went beyond that efficiency.

Raphinha's worth to Flick has ne'er been constricted to his attacking numbers. The Brazil planetary sets the code for Barcelona's pressing, repeatedly chasing defenders, closing passing lanes and helping the squad triumph possession adjacent to the absorption goal.

Against Getafe, Jesus demonstrated that helium tin supply immoderate of the aforesaid behaviours.

The erstwhile Manchester City guardant regularly dropped distant from the centre-forward position, moved into wider areas and contributed defensively erstwhile Barcelona mislaid possession.

Alongside Anthony Gordon, who opened the scoring wrong 2 minutes, Jesus helped forestall Getafe from settling into the heavy antiaircraft operation which has frustrated stronger opponents successful the past.

Barcelona's relentless unit kept the visitors pinned wrong their ain fractional for agelong periods, portion Jules Kounde yet added the 3rd extremity aft the interval.

The effect extended Barcelona's cleanable La Liga grounds to 8 wins from eight, equalling the club's best-ever commencement to a league season.

Arsenal exit already looks precise antithetic 5 weeks later

For Jesus, however, the idiosyncratic value was hard to ignore.

His last weeks astatine Arsenal had been defined by uncertainty implicit his relation nether Mikel Arteta, with the striker falling down the attacking hierarchy earlier Barcelona identified him arsenic a comparatively inexpensive marketplace opportunity. Jesus besides made a important fiscal sacrifice successful bid to implicit the move.

He arrived chiefly to supply extent aft changes to Flick's guardant options alternatively than arsenic an automatic starter.

Five weeks later, an wounded to Barcelona's astir productive attacker has already forced that squad extent to beryllium tested.

Jesus's effect was not simply to score.

He showed that Flick does not needfully person to wantonness the assertive antiaircraft principles usually embodied by Raphinha erstwhile rotating his attack.

There are evident limits to the comparison.

Raphinha remains Barcelona's captain, starring scorer and an automatic starter erstwhile fit, portion 1 awesome quality against Getafe is not capable to suggest that Jesus has fundamentally changed the hierarchy.

But the Brazilian has present scored 3 goals from a precise tiny assemblage of minutes and, much importantly for Flick, appears progressively comfy with the demands of Barcelona's system.

His accidental whitethorn proceed immediately.

Raphinha is besides unavailable for Tuesday's Champions League travel to Galatasaray, giving Jesus a realistic accidental of retaining his spot for a considerably antithetic trial distant from home.

When Barcelona signed him from Arsenal, Jesus appeared to beryllium a low-cost solution for rotation alternatively than a subordinate expected to transportation large responsibility. His departure had adjacent prompted a amazed effect from Arteta erstwhile the circumstances surrounding his Arsenal exit were discussed.

His archetypal commencement has not changed that presumption overnight.

It has, however, shown that erstwhile Flick needs idiosyncratic to inhabit Raphinha's spot connected the squad sheet, Jesus whitethorn beryllium susceptible of replacing much than conscionable his position.