Gabriel Jesus will benefit from having his family in England, says Pep Guardiola

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes that Gabriel Jesus' family is key to the Brazilian's efforts to reverse recent poor form in front of goal.

The 21 year-old scored twice on Saturday as City returned to the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 win against Everton, ending a run of 11 games without a goal for the club that stretched back to August.

That stay proved short-lived, as Liverpool retook the summit with an identical win over Manchester United on Sunday.

The Brazil international had attempted 18 unsuccessful shots during that barren spell when he turned the ball past Jordan Pickford from a tight angle after getting on the end of a pass from Leroy Sane at the Etihad Stadium.

And the manager hopes that the support of his family will help to improve Jesus to feel at home in England.

Guardiola said: “I would like to know when the family came here because in yesterday’s press conference when everybody said, ‘Oh, Gabriel is not in form’, maybe the family was not there but arrived this morning and that’s why he scored two goals!

“No, seriously, it’s much better, definitely. Being alone, a young player, I don’t think he’s got a girlfriend, he’s not married, so to have his family here is so important and I think it’s going to help him. His family will be so important to him.

“The effort Gabriel put in today - he’s always does that. But what I also like is it’s the first I listened to him in the media speaking English. That’s cool. I insist on them having to learn English because sometimes I have the feeling he maybe doesn’t understand me when I speak in English so it’s important too.”

Jesus, who scored his 30th and 31st goals since signing for City in 2017, famously said that he would have "brought his whole neighborhood" to England from Sao Paulo if possible.

“We can’t forget that football players are human beings and there are many players who have the talent but are in bad, bad form because of personal issues,” said Guardiola.

“Maybe getting divorced, things not going well at home, problems with their mum, dad, whatever, and that can influence things a lot on the pitch, more than people can imagine or expect and sometimes we don’t know it.

“That’s why he Gabriel has that feeling that, with his family here, he will be calmer, better. It’s good to have your family there. I could not live without my family, for example.”