OPINION
On a day when Manchester City’s players were in the rare position of being heavily criticised (on social media, at least) by their own supporters, one man who was getting love letters was Ilkay Gundogan. The midfielder, 28, put City ahead with his fourth league goal of the season when he charged into the box and met a Fabian Delph cross with a bullet header. At that point, no-one would have predicted that City would go on to lose 3-2 at home against a team threatened by relegation. Gundogan can, at least, on a fine performance that showed he should not be the man to make way when David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne return to full fitness. As one fan points out on Twitter, quietly the former Borussia Dortmund man has been one of City’s players of the season. His greatest impact is coming with his Frank Lampard-esque late runs into the opposition box, as he demonstrated with his third goal in his last seven league matches. Following criticism in the past from the City faithful, Gundogan is starting to prove many folk wrong.
This Is Futbol has rounded up some of the best tweets below:
Gundogan is becoming quite underrated. He's really good. Pep trusts him.
— Guardiolista (@LaComputadora14) December 22, 2018
Gundogan at £20m has been daylight robbery, struggled with injuries but he always contributes in every game he plays. Top player
— Chris (@iChrisMcfc) December 22, 2018
Typical @ManCity Goal. Magnificently Sublime. #Gundogan Text Book Header. #Cityzen #MCICRY #GoalRush #EPL
— Muranga Njenga ™ (@Africana_Jnr) December 22, 2018
#bbcfootball
Gundogan is the unsung hero for City. Great player you just can't dislike.— Sana Hashimi (@Sana120604) December 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/omgitsfionn/status/1076500444430680064
Quietly one of the players of the season, Gundogan.
— Ciarz (@CiarzScrawlings) December 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/MD17b/status/1076500573040431104
https://twitter.com/syaffiqmalek17/status/1076500819325767680
https://twitter.com/fionnrjc/status/1076500900997410816
I’m happy Gundogan is getting back to his best again, he’s one of the best midfielders in the world back in 2011/2013, he’s a key player in Klopp’s team that won Bundesliga back to back and reached UCL final. A not so silent soldier ??
— : (@united_roger) December 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/JoshCannon99/status/1076500303636246529