Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has lifted the lid on what he feels could be the reason the champions find themselves a huge 14 points off of the current league leaders Liverpool. During a televised interview with BT Sport (via Manchester Evening News) ahead of the Champions League tie in Zagreb the German international said the team’s performances were “quite far” from their best.
Gundogan went on to say: “It’s so far and a difficult season for us. There’s already a huge gap in the Premier League between Liverpool and us. It seems like and we can’t deny that the title race is already over for us. We have to compete for the Champions League again next season and that’s disappointing to be honest. So early in the season to have such a huge gap is not something we are used to.
“No-one says if you are not successful in the Premier League then you can’t be successful in the Champions League. I think in the Champions League there are still all chances open.”
When asked what’s changed at the Etihad, Gundogan added: “I don’t feel like the dynamic in the group is worse than it was before.”
“I think it’s still similar. Maybe that’s still a problem that it’s too similar. Maybe there needs to be a change. I don’t really know to be honest.
Does Ilkay Gundogan make a valid point?
Yes
No
“I just know the next few weeks will show us where we need to go. If you don’t know the feeling of frustration and anger and disappointment, I ask myself what is it really worth to be successful, what is it worth to be happy? So obviously we need these emotions.”
TIF Tactics – A number of contributing factors
Indeed, it would appear as though Gundogan has already confirmed that the gap could be too big for Manchester City to bridge when it comes down to chasing Liverpool for the Premier League title and that they will be turning their attention to the other competitions that they find themselves in.
City’s demise is down to a number of contributing factors including poor transfer business, the departure of a key figure in Vincent Kompany, the injuries suffered by the likes of Aymeric Laporte and perhaps it’s just simply unrealistic to expect a team who managed 198 points over the past two seasons to sustain that level of performance heading into a third.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom at the Etihad Stadium with the club still very much alive in their quests for the Champions League, League Cup and FA Cup.