Forced decision: Jesus on the brink of a golden opportunity in Barcelona's attack

Gabriel Jesus made an immediate impact after joining Barcelona. The 29-year-old Brazilian striker earned minutes under German coach Hansi Flick against Valencia and Feyenoord, and repaid that faith with a header from a Lamine Yamal cross.

According to the Spanish newspaper "Sport", the striker settled into the dressing room quickly. He already spoke Spanish and had no trouble communicating with his teammates, while his command of English, which Flick also speaks, came from his time at Manchester City and Arsenal. Barcelona signed him to slot straight into the system, with their coach needing options to rotate this season.

The fixtures are stacking up. Barcelona face an extremely intensive run before the international break, including three matches against Levante, Racing on Wednesday at the Spotify Camp Nou, then Sevilla at the Sanchez Pizjuan. Flick has to spread the load, and the plan is to hand Jesus a bigger, more prominent role as the games go by.

Barcelona's number 9 played nine minutes at the Mestalla on his arrival, then another seven against Feyenoord. In both, Jesus showed his goalscoring instinct and a quick grasp of football built on passing and cooperation, a collective style he already knew under Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta. That familiarity is another point in his favour.

Resting Raphinha

Raphinha remains Flick's key outright forward, but the coach would rather not overwork him. The Brazilian has completed only one of Barcelona's five official matches, and he has still delivered, scoring eight goals: six in the Spanish league and two in the Champions League.

Pulling Raphinha off once a result is settled looks like an option Barcelona should embrace with a player who battled injuries last season. He missed part of the final third of the campaign with the Catalans, notably the Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid, and he also picked up an injury with Brazil at the World Cup.

Protecting Raphinha is one of the main reasons Barcelona moved for Jesus. He works tirelessly on the pitch, adds real bite to the pressing and shoots with accuracy, traits he shares with Raphinha, though the former Leeds United man is currently operating at a higher level than almost every striker in the world bar Kylian Mbappe and a handful of others.

Positive physical condition

From day one, Jesus has worked hard to shake off the effects of his spell out at Arsenal, where he missed the club's opening matches. He looks in good physical shape and trained with the group straight away, needing no special rehabilitation programme, unlike Rodri for example.

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