Pep Guardiola heaped praise on Ilkay Gundogan for his performance against Slovan Bratislava while claiming he was not at his best against Newcastle.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Guardiola says Gundogan struggled against NewcastleScored the opener against Slovan BratislavaMan City extend Champions League unbeaten runWHAT HAPPENED?
The German midfielder, who returned to Etihad this summer after spending just one season at Barcelona, opened the scoring in Manchester City's incredible 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Tuesday. With the win, City extended their unbeaten run in the Champions League to 25 matches thereby matching arch-rivals Manchester United's record which they achieved between 2007 and 2009.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
After his team's dominant performance away from home, manager Pep Guardiola spoke highly of Gundogan's performance while claiming that the 33-year-old recovered well after a below-par performance against Newcastle United last weekend where the Cityzens were held to a 1-1 draw.
WHAT PEP GUARDIOLA SAID
Speaking to reporters, the 53-year-old manager said, "Yeah today he played at the level that we know he can do it, he has a strong mentality, the game against Newcastle was not really, really good, one of the worst I’ve ever seen from him in the past eight or nine years, but it happens.
"It’s rhythm, it’s why he needs to play. In his position, holding midfielder, he is so intelligent and apart from his goal he made a fantastic game."
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER CITY?
The reigning English champions will be back in action in the Premier League on Saturday as they are all set to host Fulham.
