Ilkay Gundogan admits he was angry, as Pep Guardiola did not start him on final day of last season

Ilkay Gundogan-Manchester City

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan admits he was angry not to start City’s final game against Aston Villa before his two-goal heroics helped them land the title.

The German midfielder started on the bench in the last game of the Premier League last season but came off the bench to inspire Pep Guardiola’s side to a win after his side fell 2-0 down.

Man City needed a victory to be certain of beating Liverpool to the title by a single point, but they were trailing 2-0 with 14 minutes remaining. It looked like they were about to blow the chance to land a fourth title in five years until Gundogan scored twice and another from Rodri secured an unforgettable turnaround.

Speaking about the game, Gundogan revealed he was angry for starting on the bench in a match of that magnitude.

“We are all competitive, we all want to play and I remember the week before I hadn’t started the West Ham game, so I was quite confident in starting and then the moment I found out I wasn’t starting I was a bit frustrated and angry,” Gundogan said via GOAL.

“I still tried to be focused and support the guys that were starting and I think I put that frustration a little bit into the game.

“Things didn’t start so well when I got subbed on as we were 10 seconds in and we conceded the second goal and then, to be honest, as a professional football player you always try to do your best, do the simple things.

“We scored the first goal and luckily that happened, then in ten minutes, we scored the three goals. Everything happened so quickly, it’s still difficult for me to analyse as it all happened so quickly.”