Ilkay Gundogan has labelled Manchester City’s upcoming game against Liverpool as one which will go a long way towards deciding the Premier League title. The influential German midfielder scored Manchester City’s third and assisted Riyad Mahrez’s goal in the 5-0 mauling of Cardiff on Saturday. Gundogan has appeared in all of City’s matches this season and has become a key player under manager Pep Guardiola. The 27-year-old believes the match at Anfield on October 7, plus clashes against Manchester United and Chelsea, will be important come the end of the season. And he admits the Reds and Blues represent very real threats to City’s hopes of securing back-to-back titles. “Those games will be important. It will be a real test for us at Anfield. Liverpool are a very strong team and Chelsea are, too,” Gundogan said.
“But it’s up to us in the end. We are trying to play like we did here because, when we are ready like we were, our chances to win games and titles are the highest. “All of us are hungry for success. We played an incredible Premier League season last year, gaining 100 points. We are aware it will get more and more difficult, our opponents are stronger than they were last year and we are the champions so everyone wants to beat us.” A challenge on Gundogan by Joe Ralls’ in the first half of Saturday’s match earned scathing criticism online. It came after Guardiola had called for more protection for players in January, after slamming a tackle from Cardiff’s Joe Bennett that kept Leroy Sane out for a fortnight.
Bluebirds defender Greg Cunningham said: “There was a bit of talk about that leading up to the game. But it’s a game of football, there’s going to be tackles going in and with the pace of the game you know some of them are going to be ill-timed. “We weren’t going down easy. We were trying to get in their faces as much as we could to try to upset them. We started really well on that front but they just turned the screw.” Gundogan’s performance also earned the praise of television pundits – former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas labelling the display ‘special’. “He was special,” said Jenas. “After the disappointment in midweek, I think it was definitely important for City to get back to their creative best. “I was surprised that [David] Silva didn’t start the game but Gundogan filled that void perfectly. “He was ever present in the little pockets of space. He was willing to make things happen. “City will punish you and it was that kind of afternoon for players like [Raheem] Sterling and Gundogan who really seemed to enjoy themselves. “Gundogan’s goal was the perfect goal for a central midfielder. Finishes don’t get much better than that.”
