When all hope seemed lost, City turned around the game in a matter of five minutes, as Gundogan scored twice to help them defend their Premier League title.
Follow Us
Ilkay Gundogan turned out to be the hero on the final day of the Premier League season when his two late goals helped Manchester City recover from the jaws of defeat and clinch the league title. What is more impressive was the fact that Gundogan came on from the bench on a day when City were trailing 2-0 at Etihad Stadium. They needed the win or else the league title would have gone to Liverpool. As it turned out, Pep Guardiola’s side scored three late goals in the span of five minutes and two of those, including the winner, came from Gundogan.
The German midfielder, however, credited “destiny” and a bit of “luck” as factors behind his side’s dramatic late turnaround on that eventful Sunday. “I don’t know, maybe it was destiny, maybe it was a bit of luck,” Gundogan reflected back on the final day, as per their club’s website. “But I was twice at the right spot and was able to score. I didn’t really have a choice I feel. We just had 20 minutes to play, we were 2-0 down so all I wanted to try was to get into the box and smell where the danger might be.”
Gundogan’s contribution to the memorable final day drama continues to be lauded by fans. However, the German midfielder also shared the credit with his teammates for the roles they played in turning around the match. In particular, he praised Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne’s contribution to the goals. Sterling set up the first strike, while De Bruyne’s assist helped Gundogan score the winning goal.
READ MORE – Premier League: Teams with Most Number of Points in a Season
“The first goal, the header, I knew that Raz was going to go to the by-line and cross,” Gundogan reminisced. “I felt like the danger might be at the second post and the ball was perfect to be honest. I just had to put my head on it. The third goal, we all know Kevin’s quality, whipping the ball to the second post. So, for me, the timing was important to anticipate when he was going to play the ball. (It was) make the run and try to stay onside and the timing was perfect!”
On the final day, Manchester City needed all three points to win the Premier League title. However, Aston Villa almost pulled off a major shock when they went 2-0 up. First, Matty Cash opened the scoring in the first half before Philippe Coutinho doubled their advantage in the 69th minute. When all hope seemed lost, City turned around the game in a matter of five minutes. Gundogan scored twice – either side of Rodri’s goal – to help Manchester City defend their Premier League title.
Manchester City vs Liverpool: Talking points from the action-packed draw
