Manchester City fans have taken to Twitter to criticise Ilkay Gundogan for his first half display against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
Despite a 38th minute goal to give City a 2-0 lead and total control in Ukraine, the German international drew the ire of many fans on social media for a display that they perceived to be wasteful and, at times, “useless” according to one fan.
In some respects, you can understand where they are coming from.
Gundogan was not at his best on Wednesday evening, even with his strike, and he struggled to make much of an impact in a fairly traditional number eight role prior to the goal.
New signing Rodri was entrusted with shielding the back four in a defensive role, leaving Gundogan in a slightly more advanced position than he might ordinarily prefer.
According to Transfermarkt, the 28-year-old has played 232 matches in the centre of the park compared to just 55 as a CDM, but on the basis of this performance, he seems far comfier in a more reserved role.
That may seem like an odd thing to say, given that it was he who hit the post to set up Riyad Mahrez’s opener and then he who doubled the lead just before half time, but the German genuinely looks far more at ease reading the game and reacting to it, as opposed to initiating attacks.
Here are some of the best tweets from fans.
Gundogan with a stinker already
— Doku Doku Literature Club (@UnMijis) September 18, 2019
https://twitter.com/ThatchersElbow/status/1174402017089007623?s=20
https://twitter.com/Cancelode/status/1174402176078286848?s=20
To be fair to Gundogan, he is a good footballer, and he has adapted fairly well regardless of where Pep Guardiola has asked him to play.
So far this term, for instance, he has managed 1.5 key passes per match, but the flip side of that is that he has only registered 0.4 successful dribbles, as per Whoscored.
By contrast, David Silva, a player who might be interchanged with Gundogan in that number eight role, has averaged two key passes per 90 minutes, as well as 1.7 successful dribbles, as per Whoscored.
Gundogan is a decent option, of course, but without that mobility in his game, he comes across a little two dimensional compared to some of his colleagues.
https://twitter.com/Anonymo01661563/status/1174402287919349765?s=20
https://twitter.com/CrossingTheBall/status/1174402360678002688?s=20
Gundogan is a disgustingly bad #8
— . (@billymcfc_) September 18, 2019
In comparison, his defensive work is always solid.
So far this season he has averaged 1.5 tackles per 90 minutes, as well as 2.3 interceptions, and has committed just 0.4 fouls, as per Whoscored.
He is tidy and effective in winning the ball back in key areas, and you sometimes feel that Pep is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole when he deputises him for David or Bernardo Silva in a more creative position.
Of course, some fans will look at his output and be perfectly happy with it, but for others, who demand the absolute elite at all times, he needs to be doing more to justify him starting in that role.
Gundogan plays so much deeper than our other 8s. The difference in pressing when he plays is huge.
— Daniel (@danielcity22) September 18, 2019
How are Shaktar playing that good against us, Gundogan is useless on the midfield #SHAMCI #MCFC
— Jacob, lawyer (@LawyerAchillias) September 18, 2019