DBasia.news – Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan admits he was furious with his manager, Pep Guardiola.
Gundogan is Guardiola’s first signing shortly after officially managing Manchester City in the summer of 2016. He was recruited from Borussia Dortmund for around 27 million euros.
Guardiola certainly did not arbitrarily recruit Gundogan. It is evident that the German national team player continues to play an important role in Manchester City’s midfield to this day.
But that does not mean their relationship doesn’t have problems. Gundogan in fact does not always agree with the manager’s policy.
An example in fact occurred in the last week of the Premier League last season. Gundogan could not accept Guardiola’s decision to reserve him against Aston Villa.
This game is very crucial for Manchester City. Only victory can bring them to lock the title.
As a key player, Gundogan certainly wants to contribute to bringing his team to victory. But he actually had to accept the fact of sitting on the bench.
“We are all competitive, we all want to play and I remember the week before, I didn’t start against West Ham either. So I was confident enough to start (against Villa), then when I found out I was a little frustrated and angry,” Gundogan said as quoted by Goal.
“I’m still trying to focus and support the guys who start. I think I was a little frustrated in the game.”
Gundogan’s emotions peaked after Manchester City trailed 0-1 until the end of the first half. The title that is already in sight is threatened to float away.
Guardiola then lowered Gundogan in the 68th minute. Ironically, Manchester City conceded again one minute later.
“Things didn’t start well when I came on as a substitute. We conceded the second goal and then honestly, as a professional footballer you always try to do your best, do simple things.
Gundogan finally gave evidence as a key player for Manchester City. He led the comeback of The Citizens to close the match with a 3-2 victory.
Gundogan even scored two goals in between. Another goal was contributed by Rodri.
“We scored the first goal and luckily it happened, then in ten minutes we scored three goals. Everything happened so fast, it’s still challenging for me to analyze because everything happened so fast.”
You can imagine if Manchester City failed to make a comeback at that time. Gundogan and Guardiola’s relationship may be heating up which could result in one of them leaving.