5 moments when Gündogan proved his uniqueness at Manchester City

Ilkay Gündogan signed with Barcelona a few days ago and left Manchester City as a free agent after seven years. He was a legend at the club, but at the same time he was a bit of an underrated player throughout his engagement. Let’s take a look at the moments when the German midfielder proved that he is one of the best players in the world.

The first goal

Although Gündogan was coach Pep Guardiola’s first signing, he missed the start of the season due to injury. On his debut, he scored a penalty against Mönchengladbach in a Champions League match. Three days later, he scored in his first Premier League game in a 3-0 win over Bournemouth.

Two goals for Barcelona

In the 2016/17 season, in addition to Mönchengladbach, the English side also met Barcelona in the Champions League group stage. The Catalans won 4-0 at the Camp Nou after Messi’s hat-trick, but the thirty-two year old midfielder scored in the return leg. First he took advantage of Sterling’s centre to equalise at 1:1 and then he scored his second goal to help the Citizens win 3:1.

Record breaker

In March 2018, Manchester City took on Chelsea and it was a 1: 0 win. In that match, Gündogan set the English league record for most successful passes in a single game (167). This record was held before him by another Manchester City legend – Yaya Touré. The record is still held by the German midfielder today.

The joker who decided the title

Last season, Manchester City really struggled. It only needed to beat Aston Villa at home to win the Premier League again, but the match did not go as the Spanish strategist wanted, with twenty-two minutes to go and a 0:2 scoreline on the scoreboard.

At that moment, he reached for the German midfielder on the bench. First he immediately reduced the score to 1:2, and when Rodri equalised, he took the blame again and with his second goal from the bench, he completed the turnaround and gave the title to his club.

Derby in the FA Cup Final

The Citizens were due to take on their city rivals Manchester United in the English Cup final, who have been increasingly unravelling under Erik Ten Hag. Gündogan, however, was not too worried about that. He opened the scoring in the 13th second with a beautiful volley. In the second half, he repeated his volley, this time even directly after a corner kick, and shot another trophy for his team.

Source: Goal, Transfermarkt, Manchester City