Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus has landed a Champions League record for his goalscoring exploits in Wednesday's clash with Dinamo Zagreb. The 22-year-old forward struck thrice in the away encounter to become the youngest-ever Brazilian to score more than 10 goals in the history of the European competition.
Before the former Palmerias prodigy's heroics, City was made to fight back in the early part of the night's encounter, conceding a Dani Olmo stunner inside the first 10 minutes. 24 minutes later, Jesus stepped up to restore parity by heading in his first of the night.
Five minutes after the commencment of the second half, Pep Guardiola's side was put ahead by the Brazlian striker - this time, firing in a right-footed shot after a brilliant exchange of passes with Phil Foden. He subsequently scored his third of the night four minutes later to overtake Neymar as the youngest Brazilian player to reach more than 10 goals in the Champions League. The Paris Saint-Germain star did so at the age of 23 years and 75 days.
101 - Gabriel Jesus has now surpassed 100 career goals in all competitions, with 55 of those coming for current club Manchester City (28 for Palmeiras, 18 for Brazil). Ton. #UCL #DINMCI pic.twitter.com/z1lctxtV39
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 11, 2019
Only four Brazilian players have scored multiple Champions League hat-tricks:
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 11, 2019
Luiz Adriano (3)
Adriano (2)
Neymar (2)
Gabriel Jesus (2)
City's no.9 joins #UCL royalty. pic.twitter.com/jHTffuLRPz
In a broader scope, Gabriel Jesus' third goal took Manchester City's goal tally under Pep Guardiola to 500 in just 199 games across all competitions. As things stand, the Etihad outfit has registered 95 goals than any other English club since the Spanish manager was appointed in 2016.
500 - Manchester City have now scored 500 goals in 199 games in all competitions under Pep Guardiola - 95 more than any other English team since the Spaniard was appointed in 2016. Feast. #UCL #DINMCI pic.twitter.com/oRRaqIWJ12
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 11, 2019