A fiery start that steals the spotlight

Gabriel Jesus has justified his signing in the space of a few weeks. The Brazilian striker has taken every chance handed to him at Barcelona and now sits above Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior in the La Liga scoring charts, with only Kylian Mbappe ahead of him among the Madrid ranks.

According to the Spanish newspaper "Sport", Deco got the deal over the line in the dying moments of the summer window, a swift piece of business that caught plenty by surprise. Then Jesus surprised everyone again with what he produced in the Catalan club's shirt.

Flick has handed the former Arsenal forward minutes and Jesus has repaid every one of them with eye-catching displays. He arrived as cover for Raphinha, a way of giving his compatriot a breather when needed. Raphinha's injury opened the door, and Jesus walked straight through it.

Doubts followed him to Catalonia. The serious injuries in his past and a scoring rate that had dropped off over recent seasons convinced many he would never get back to his old level. He pulled on the Barcelona shirt and immediately started scoring at a striking rate.

Barcelona have made a record start, 39 goals in the first nine rounds, and Jesus wants his share of that glut. Three in La Liga so far.

A goal every 59 minutes

One goal every 59 minutes tells you how neatly Jesus fits Hansi Flick's system.

Seven matches into the season, the Brazilian has pulled out his famous phone-call celebration four times: three goals in La Liga and one on his first Barcelona appearance in the Champions League against Feyenoord.

Real Betis were the latest to suffer. Flick gave him a start, he spent 79 minutes on the pitch and scored the Catalan club's third after a wonderful pass from Lamine Yamal.

He almost had a second, only for another effort, again created by an excellent ball from the number 10, to be ruled out.

Outscoring Vinicius

Journalist Fran Gonzalez, speaking on Marca radio, praised the levels the Brazilian striker is producing, saying: "I think Gabriel Jesus's numbers have already become serious, and I'm not joking. He has scored more goals in the league than Vinicius. And the only Real Madrid player who has scored more than him is Mbappe, with seven goals."

He added: "Last season and the season before, Jesus scored three goals in the Premier League with Arsenal, and he has already scored three goals with Barcelona. We are talking about a big success and a good signing."

Flick: he will produce much better levels

Barcelona's coach made his own case for Jesus after the Champions League meeting with Galatasaray: "Gabriel is a top-class player, and he will produce much better levels than he is showing now. I'm happy with what he is giving us, but I believe he has far greater potential, and that will show over the coming weeks and months."

Four days. That was all the Brazilian needed to answer his coach on the pitch.