April has truly begun the final run-in across the domestic and European competitions, and in the Premier League we are still none the wiser about who will take the title come the end of May. Manchester City have started and ended on top once again but only by the skin of their teeth, and Liverpool are breathing down their necks at every opportunity.

As we are enjoying a close title race, a battle for top 4 and a battle in the relegation spots, we are being treated to brilliant drama and standout performances each gameweek, making the POTM award quite tough this month. Nearly every club side has a player they could nominate for the award, however every time we thought about this, we came back to the top of the table and the brilliance both City and Liverpool are showing.

Because of this, with respect to Salah, De Bruyne and the rest of the sides, we have to go with Gabriel Jesus for this months’ award. Around the start of this month, it was revealed that Jesus will likely leave the club this summer, and clubs such as Arsenal and some big European sides have already perked up at the news. It seems as if he took this chance of being in the headlines already to make it about how brilliant he is on the pitch, and very much has let his football do the talking. With 6 goals and 1 assist including a 4 goal haul, he has taken every opportunity as City competed on 3 fronts with varying degrees of success over the month, and has stepped up exactly when his team need him most.

If you have anything to add to our NextGoalWinner POTM decision, or disagree with our pick, head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and let us know what you think.

Match By Match

April 2nd: Burnley 0-2 Manchester City – Only being given one of his regular ‘cameo’ appearances, Jesus arrived to the field in the 64th minute with the game already well dead and buried. Despite only being given a half-hour run out, he did get involved in the rampant City attacking as he managed 4 shots, however none were on target and he missed 1 big chance. He left the pitch with an xG of 0.63 which is fairly strong considering the minutes played. Not his finest performance of the month (we will get to that later), but he did enough in this and a similar cameo in the Champions League first leg against Atletico to earn a starting spot in possibly the biggest game of their entire season at home to Liverpool.

April 10th: Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool – When given the chance, Jesus did step up to the plate, delivering his sides 2nd goal of the game which gave them the lead for the second time in the first-half before twice being pegged back by an evenly matched Liverpool side. In a game which was a ‘mustn’t lose’ for City, they were equally matched with Klopp’s side and it made for a thrilling watch for neutrals. Jesus made his mark and was the player of the match with an 8.3/10 FotMob rating. Along with his goal, his stats made for impressive reading, with 4 shots (3 on target), 80% pass accuracy, 100% tackles won, 3 recoveries and winning 7/12 duels. He was also the most fouled player on the pitch which demonstrates his influence in irritating the Liverpool back line. It was once again enough for him to earn another starting spot against Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final, although the result and performance in this one didn’t quite set the world alight despite an assist.

April 20th: Manchester City 3-0 Brighton – Due to Guardiola’s rotation and tactical switches, it’s always expected that Jesus will be in and out of the team, which is perhaps why speculation has grown about him exiting this summer, especially with Haaland’s arrival becoming more imminent by the hour. Jesus went from back to back starts against Liverpool to a 7 minute appearance from the bench against Brighton as his side once again swept aside the opposition before Jesus could even take to the field. A nothing performance which is a shame for the Brazilian who will at times feel hard done by given his previous league performance had been so strong.

April 23rd: Manchester City 5-1 Watford – When he returned to the starting XI just 3 days later, it’s fair to say he proved why he should start more games. His side were rampant against a struggling Watford side, however this very much was all down to Jesus, who netted 4 out of the 5 and set up the other. This performance is what has earnt him the POTM award without a doubt, and despite Watford being a struggling side essentially doomed for relegation, to have such an impact when he’s been in and out of the side is remarkable. Earning a 9.8/10 rating he was as good as perfect as could be expected. Along with his 5 goal involvements, he had 80% shot accuracy, 86% pass accuracy and made 7 recoveries. Putting him on 7 goals and 8 assists in the league this season from only 17 starts, he will be aiming for double figures in the closing games of the season in both goals and assists.

April 30th: Leeds United 0-4 Manchester City – He edged closer to the 10 goal mark as he netted the 3rd of City’s 4 against Leeds in another dominant display against potential banana-skin opponents. City made light work of their Yorkshire opponents after having a tough night midweek and already mentally thinking about next weeks trip to Madrid in the Champions League. Despite this, Jesus put in another great shift as he made his 18th start of the season and earnt a 8.7/10 FotMob rating for his work. With more key passes than anyone else (5) and being fouled more than any other player (4) which is even more impressive knowing Jack Grealish played the full 90, he was again an absolute handful for the opposing defence. His shift in this game puts his average rating at 8.93/10 for the 3 games he has started in, a remarkable run for any player no matter their teams’ dominance. Should City win the league once again, and compete in the Champions League, the performances of Jesus must no go underrated, and if he leaves in the summer for first-team action, whoever picks him up has an absolutely quality player heading their way who could bag 15-20+ league goals a season for the next 5-6 years at a minimum.