Gabriel Jesus says Manchester City have taken a sizeable but stylish stride towards reclaiming the Premier League title by winning the Manchester derby with "beautiful football".
While Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho had suggested City were fortunate to triumph 2-1 on Sunday, citing a double save by goalkeeper Ederson and an incident when he felt Ander Herrera should have been awarded a penalty, Jesus argued it was a deserved triumph.
City, who now have an 11-point lead over United, equalled a Premier League record by winning a 14th consecutive game and could set a new outright record when they face Swansea on Wednesday.
An old gem during a game against Swansea
A Kolarov bullet against Swansea! #swansvcity #mancity pic.twitter.com/fJgcwGaBRo
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 11, 2017
And Jesus said: “I hope we can keep playing like this to celebrate at the end of the season. It was my first time at Old Trafford against United. It was a big step [to win the title].
“We had to respect them but also to keep playing the beautiful football we have played so far. We did what the manager asked us to do what he wanted, so our win is with merit."
City have been paired with Basel in the last 16 of the Uefa Champions League but Jesus downplayed suggestions that they can win both the major English and European competitions.
“They are both tough tournaments, with many contenders,” the Brazilian added. “We have played well in both of them. We are making history in the Premier League, but we have to keep our eyes open and keep ourselves focused because we still many tough matches left.”
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Jesus was preferred to Sergio Aguero at Old Trafford and rued two opportunities he missed. “We had many chances. Personally, I had two, but in both of them I did not see I was unmarked and then I shot,” he said.
Manager Pep Guardiola amended his tactics so striker Jesus spent more time on the flanks and he explained: “There had been a while that I had not played open wide, but I think I was able to help the team. We did it in training in order to have more flow in the middle and to try to win the one against one with the full backs.”
