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Since missing the first four games of the season due to the coronavirus, Gundogan has been with City’s team for their last 25 games in all competitions, starting 18 of them and coming off the bench in two more.
Ilkay Gundogan wasn’t the obvious or most exciting answer to the question of how Manchester City would replace their talisman in midfield David Silva, but after doing that, he has now become their new Sergio Aguero as well.
The versatile German international has stepped into Silva’s silk shoes to set the pace for Pep Guardiola’s team since the Spaniard left last summer and, even more surprising, has also borrowed the shooting boots. de Agüero to help City climb to the top of the Premier League.
Previously, the 30-year-old had not scored more than six league goals in a single season, either with City or in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund or Nuremberg, but his two goals in Tuesday’s resounding win over West Brom means he has scored seven in his last eight league appearances.
Where do your goals come from? “I don’t know to be honest, there isn’t really a secret,” Gundogan said full time.
“We try to be a little flexible [with our positions]Especially when we see our central defenders or the holding midfielder building up and if the player has the time and space to get the ball right, we try to make moves, which is exactly how we scored our first goal here.
“I just try to be in the right spaces at the right time. I have played a bit more offensive role the last few weeks and if I have the opportunity near the opponent’s area then I try to be there and try to make the right decisions.” .
“ Gundo is a guy with an incredible sense of goal. ” Before Tuesday, City had only been at the top of the table for a few hours, when they beat Aston Villa last week before Manchester United beat Fulham in a subsequent kickoff. This is the first time they have been leaders overnight, although United can regain top spot by beating Sheffield United on Wednesday.
Gundogan’s goal run has coincided with City’s rise to the top after seven straight league victories, and 11 in a row in all competitions, scoring 30 goals in the process.
It’s not the only reason Guardiola’s team has put aside the continued absence of Agüero, their all-time top scorer, to reach his form in such a devastating way, but he has certainly played a role with some contributions. key: four of his goals have been the first of a City game.
There have also been a variety of finishes, from the spectacular, such as his sumptuous shots from the edge of the box against the Baggies and Crystal Palace, to the efforts of poachers like his close-range shot of a Raheem Sterling cut against Newcastle. .
Gundogan opened the scoring for City in their 2-0 win over Newcastle on December 26, and has done the same against West Brom (twice) and Chelsea in recent weeks.
That goal was an example of how far he has come these days, in a new forward role, to have more shots per game than ever since he arrived at the Etihad Stadium for £ 20m from Borussia Dortmund as Guardiola’s first signing in June. 2016. He is also making them count.
“Gundo is a guy who has an incredible sense of goal,” Guardiola explained after his team’s graceful victory at The Hawthorns.
“It’s not just about knowing the right time to get to the box, it’s the right second. This is the most difficult thing: not arriving a meter earlier or a meter later, but at the exact moment, and Gundo has this sense.
“And it’s not just that, with his shot he also has this way of controlling the ball, slowing down and taking a second to compose himself and see what happens, and be clinical.”
Gundogan’s second goal against West Brom raised his all-competition tally for City this season to nine – he is the club’s top scorer in 2020-21 alongside Phil Foden.
The problem for Gundogan in the past has been finding a place on the team, but not anymore.
“He’s underrated but it’s always been difficult for him at City because of the players in front of him,” says former City defender Micah Richards. “Sometimes he has had to fill in where he could, often instead of Fernandinho or Rodri.
“But he always had a lot more to his game than just being a midfielder and now he’s showing it.
“He can score goals, he can create goals, and if you look at the timing of his careers into the area, he’s also very smart, and he’s a team player.
“I’ve criticized Rodri in the past because sometimes it seems like he doesn’t do that killer forward pass, he almost goes side to side, but Gundogan affects the game with passes and goals, so it’s no wonder Pep loves him.”
A ‘safety first’ choice? No longer
However, more than scoring goals, it is the balance and discipline that Gundogan brings to the team that remains his best attributes. They have always been appreciated by their coach, but sometimes less by City fans.
Pep Guardiola and Ilkay Gundogan embrace after winning the 2019 Premier League title
Gundogan, who suffered a serious knee injury early in his City career and was sidelined by Covid-19 at the start of this season, has now played 185 games for the club.
Guardiola clearly trusts him, calling him “an incredible player and an incredible human” after the December win over Newcastle, explaining that “he gives us the right pace”, but he has spent much of the last four years watching as a kind of back. planned by the fans of your team.
That may sound unfair, but City’s first-choice midfielders for most of that period were Fernandinho, Silva and Kevin de Bruyne, so it’s not an insult that someone was seen as an unfavorable choice for either of them. they.
Gundogan has always been able to play in midfield, but because he could deftly replace Fernandinho or later Rodri in the waiting position, seeing his name on the team sheet suggested a more conservative approach from Guardiola, without import the role that was requested. fill in.
He first received the label of being a safety first pick when he was surprisingly preferred to Sterling in City’s 3-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield in the first leg of their 2018 Champions League loss. He persisted when he played ahead of Leroy. Sane and De Bruyne on the same stage in Europe in 2019 and City lost at Tottenham.
This streak of good form should end those negative perceptions for good, and also allay any fears about the impact De Bruyne’s absence will have on City’s attacking production in the coming weeks. With this evidence, Gundogan is also able to replace him.
“First of all, I am very happy with Gundo’s performances, but also with the recognition he is starting to get,” Guardiola added. “We are more delighted with what he is doing, but not only at the moment.
“In 2018-19, when we won our second consecutive Premier League title, he played as a midfielder when Fernandinho got injured and he did incredibly well.
“The first season he had an anterior cruciate ligament [anterior cruciate injury] and we miss him so much, but since then we’ve seen his performances like this and also his personality – on the bigger stages, the personality that he plays with is outstanding. “
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Source: bbc.com
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