Gabriel Jesus scored on his Champions League debut against Feyenoord!

Soccer can produce some remarkable coincidences. Gabriel Jesus could make his Champions League debut for Barça this Wednesday, September 9, against the very same opponent he faced when he made his debut in the competition with Manchester City in 2017: Feyenoord. As the Brazilian striker revealed a few days ago during his presentation as a Barcelona player, he came close to moving to Camp Nou nearly a decade ago. Instead, it was Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola still in the early stages of what would become his historic, lengthy and hugely successful spell in Manchester, that made the strongest push to sign the promising forward who had burst onto the scene with Palmeiras, where he made his senior debut during the 2015–16 season. Gabriel Jesus finally made his official Champions League debut on September 13, 2017, wearing Manchester City's colors at De Kuip in Rotterdam against Feyenoord in a Group F match of the 2017–18 Champions League. Jesus was 20 years old at the time, slightly older than his now famous Barça attacking teammate Lamine Yamal. City cruised to a 4–0 victory, with Gabriel Jesus scoring the third goal of the night. He partnered Argentine striker Sergio 'Kun' Agüero in attack, who would later also play for Barça before being forced into an early retirement for health reasons. Agüero scored once, while John Stones, now at Inter Milan, added two goals to complete the rout. Jesus started the match and nearly scored shortly after kickoff, but Brazilian center back Eric Botteghin cleared his effort off the line for Feyenoord. Barça's new signing made no mistake with his next opportunity. In the 25th minute, Jesus made it 3–0 following a corner. After efforts from Agüero and Benjamin Mendy, with goalkeeper Brad Jones struggling to keep the ball out, the Brazilian reacted quickest to finish the move. That night, Guardiola fielded Ederson; Stones, Fernandinho, Otamendi; Walker, Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Mendy; Kun Agüero and Gabriel Jesus. Jesus played the entire match, while Sané, Delph and Sterling also featured. Last Sunday, Gabriel Jesus played his first minutes in a Barça jersey. He made his debut in the La Liga match against Valencia at Mestalla, which Barcelona won 5–0. He entered in the 36th minute of the second half, replacing Pedri González. Jesus came close to scoring his first goal for the Catalan club and was on the field to celebrate Barça's fifth goal of the afternoon, scored by Lamine Yamal. Perhaps against Feyenoord, the striker who arrived from Arsenal just a few days ago will have the opportunity to repeat what he accomplished with Manchester City nine years ago: making his Champions League debut for a new club with a goal against the Rotterdam side.