Jesus' resurrection in Italy! Arsenal see off Inter behind Brazilian's brace

It was November 29, 2023, and Arsenal hosted the French Lens in the penultimate round of the Champions League group stage. The Gunners smashed the rivals 6-0, and Gabriel Jesus scored the second goal in the 21st minute.

After a 783-day break, during which he had some severe injury problems and endured an ordeal, the Brazilian again found the net in the UCL - and not once, but twice, paving the way for Arsenal's 3-1 victory over Inter Milan at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

The opening half was much more interesting than the second, as it brought three goals - two from Jesus for the visitors and Petar Sucic's for the Nerazzurri, which levelled the score, albeit briefly.

After the break, Arsenal cleverly defended the lead, waiting for a chance to seal the deal, and it finally came in the 84th minute, when Viktor Gyokeres, who came off the bench nine minutes earlier, set the final score.

Even though we're not talking about basketball, but football, the first half at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza was all about the rebounds, as each of the three goals scored before the break came after "ricochets".

Ten minutes into the game, Gabriel Jesus broke the deadlock, scoring in the Champions League after more than two years! He exploited Jurrien Timber's effort, avoided the offside trap, and passed the rebound after the block into the net.

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Inter's response came just eight minutes later from a quick counterattack. Marcus Thuram did most of the work, keeping the ball after Cristhian Mosquera's tackle, and once again, the block failed to neutralize the danger, as Petar Sucic got the rebound and smashed it into David Raya's net with a powerful first-touch strike.

Yet, the Gunners made sure they were up at the break, while their "resurrected man", Jesus, sent a strong message to his "rival" for the spot in the attack, the rather inefficient Viktor Gyokeres. This time, the Brazilian scored after Arsenal's corner-kick special.

Bukayo Saka crossed the ball to the far post, Leandro Trossard headed it back inside, the ball hit the bar, and Jesus just nodded in the rebound.

In general, the visitors were better, relentlessly pressing the rivals from the start. On the other hand, Inter mainly threatened through counters.

Both sides could have scored a couple of goals more, but lacked focus in the decisive moments, while Raya and Yann Sommer made a few terrific saves.

Jesus belongs at Arsenal

After the break, the rivals' roles slightly changes, as the Nerazzurri were forced to pursue an equalizer, while Arsenal could stay back and wait for an ideal chance to hand the final blow.

Saka made a lot of trouble to Federico Dimarco on the right attacking flank, and after one of his excellent crosses, Trossard could have increased the London team's lead, but fired it wide off Sommer's left post.

On the other hand, Inter boss Cristian Chivu replaced the captain Lautaro Martinez with Francesco Pio Esposito three minutes after the hour mark, trying to throw off the Gunners' defence with the 20-year-old's strength. The Romanian gaffer made the right move, as the youngster started tormenting the visitors' centre-backs - especially Mosquera - and made three attempts in his first five minutes on the pitch.

Cast-off at Arsenal, reunited in Amsterdam

The home crew desperately relied in the all-out-attack tactics, and were punished in the 84th minute, when the Gyokeres, who came off the bench nine minutes earlier, made it 3-1 after a fastbreak, confirming Inter's third straight UCL defeat.

Therefore, Mikel Arteta's crew served a cold vengeance on Inter, after a 1-0 defeat at the same venue in the previous Champions League edition, when Hakan Calhanoglu's winner from the spot sealed the deal for the Italian side.

Thanks to this road win, Arsenal remained the only team in the current UCL campaign with a perfect score, while the Nerazzurri dropped from the TOP 8, and will be forced to dig themselves out against Borussia in Dortmund in the final league phase round.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 7

Tuesday

Kairat Almaty - Club Brugge 1-4 (0-2)

/Sadybekov 90+2 - Stankovic 32, Vanaken 38, Vermant 74, Mechele 84/

Bodo/Glimt - Manchester City 3-1 (2-0)

/Hogh 22, 24, Hauge 58 - Cherki 60/

Copenhagen - Napoli 1-1 (0-1)

/Larsson 72 - McTominay 39/

Inter Milan - Arsenal 1-3 (1-2)

/Sucic 18 - Jesus 10, 31, Gyokeres 84/

Real Madrid - Monaco 6-1 (2-0)

/Mbappe 5, 26, Mastantuono 51, Kehrer 55 og, Vinicius Jr 63, Bellingham 81 - Teze 72/

Olympiacos - Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 (2-0)

/Costinha 2, Taremi 45+1/

Sporting Lisbon - PSG 2-1 (0-0)

/Suarez 74, 90+1 - Kvaratskhelia 79/

Tottenham - Dortmund 2-0 (2-0)

/Romero 14, Solanke 37/

Villarreal - Ajax 1-2 (0-0)

/Oluwaseyi 49 - Gloukh 61, Edvardsen 90/

Wednesday

20.45: (3.50) Galatasaray (3.50) Atl.Madrid (2.05)

20.45: (3.15) Qarabag (3.50) Eintr.Frankfurt (2.20)

23.00: (1.90) Atalanta (3.50) Ath.Bilbao (4.20)

23.00: (1.12) Bayern (12.0) St.Gilloise (19.0)

23.00: (1.15) Chelsea (9.50) Paphos (19.0)

23.00: (1.82) Juventus (3.50) Benfica (4.50)

23.00: (1.48) Newcastle (4.40) PSV (6.75)

23.00: (3.90) Olympique Marseille (3.50) Liverpool (1.95)

23.00: (8.00) Slavia Praha (5.75) Barcelona (1.33)

***odds are subject to change***