Manchester City? Something’s wrong. Lacking desire and hunger, perhaps dropping out of the cup will be a wake-up call for us, says captain Gündogan

They destroyed Chelsea on Sunday, but succumbed to Southampton in the League Cup on Wednesday. Moreover, Manchester City did not threaten the opponent’s goal even once against Saints. Captain Ilkay Gündogan took aim at the performance of his teammates and according to him, something is wrong in the team now.

Pep Guardiola is not having a very good season by his standards. Manchester City are not at the top of the league table and are also out of the League Cup. Something he is not very used to, although of course it is not a tragedy.

But the fact is that the Citizens have not been operating at their best in recent days. Swing performances, unstable performances and unexpected losses are the current reality. A draw with Everton, two wins against Chelsea, one of which was a sovereign one, and an unexpected loss to Southampton.

The defeat by Saints is an extra end in the League Cup. Manchester City did not score a single shot between the three poles, Southampton was much more active.

Citizens captain Ilkay Gündogan has now had his say. “In the last two weeks I feel that the team was missing something, something wasn’t working. With our quality we always have to win. There seems to be a special ingredient missing. The performance, the desire and the hunger are maybe not what they have been in recent years,” Goal quotes him as saying.

“Hopefully the loss to Southampton will be a wake-up call for us. Let’s hope that will indeed be the case. We have to start working hard again, be humble because success will not come to us alone,” the German midfielder added.

It will be possible to atone for the defeat this weekend. And it won’t be easy. The Citizens will be at Old Trafford in the Manchester derby. Even Gündogan sees the match as a great opportunity to turn the situation in his favour.

Manchester United have failed to beat their city rival in their last three meetings and Guardiola’s charges have a lot to build on. Moreover, they have won two of their last three matches at Old Trafford, while the third ended in a goalless draw.

Source: Manchester City, Goal, Transfermarkt