İlkay Gündoğan

Gündoğan and City shock Barcelona

Manchester City played one of their best-ever matches as they beat Barcelona 3-1 in the Champions League. It didn't look good for the Premier League leaders in the first half when Lionel Messi scored the opening goal after a wonderful counter-attack from Barcelona. City manager, Pep Guardiola, said after the match, 'for 38 minutes we saw the best team in the world'. However, a mistake by a Barcelona defender gave City the chance to equalise just before half-time. Sergio Aguero collected a loose ball, passed to Raheem Sterling, who crossed for İlkay Gündoğan to finish. It was a big boost for City and in the second half, they were the stronger team. In the 51st minute, City went ahead through a fantastic free-kick from Kevin De Bruyne. Barcelona came close to an equaliser when they hit the crossbar but it was City who looked more likely to score more goals and, in the 74th minute, City's third and Gündoğan's second arrived. City players and fans celebrated a famous win and must now be thinking how far they can go in this season's Champions League? 

The second half was incredible. We dominated Barcelona in the second half and had a few more chances to score. It was an incredible night for everyone.  Ilkay Gündoğan​.

How good is Gündoğan?

Ilkay Gündoğan probably played his best match yet in a Manchester City shirt. He scored twice and showed amazing energy throughout the ninety minutes. His passing was also terrific. He completed 96% of the 28 passes he played during the match. He showed how important it is for a team to have runners arriving in the penalty area from midfield. His goals were not difficult but he had to be in the right place at the right time to score. Gündoğan's two goals against Barcelona mean it's now four goals in two games for the German midfielder. He scored two against West Brom in City's 4-0 away win last weekend. Against West Brom, Gündoğan also set up a goal for Aguero and is starting to look like the long-term replacement for Yaya Toure in City's midfield.

Today is a good step. We played against a great team and we competed. Now, my players will realise, 'wow, we won against the best team'.  Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola.

What do we know about Ilkay Gündoğan ?

Ilkay Gündoğan was born on 24 October 1990 in Gelsenkirchen, a city in the west of Germany with a population of around 260,000. Gündoğan 's parents were both born in Turkey and he has described the decision to play international football for Germany rather than Turkey as one of the most difficult decisions of his career. Gündoğan's home city is quite famous for Turkish-German players, the ex-Turkey captain, Hamit Altintop, and Arsenal's German World Cup winner, Mesut Ozil, were both born in Gelsenkirchen. Gündoğan started his professional career with Bochum's reserve team but his career started to move forward when he signed for FC Nurnberg in the German Bundesliga. But, he really made his name with Borussia Dortmund, he played for Dortmund 157 times over five seasons and won the League title, German Cup and reached the final of the Champions League in 2012/13. Playing under the now Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, Dortmund beat Real Madrid in the semi-finals but lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich in the final despite Gündoğan scoring the equaliser. In June 2016, Gündoğan became Pep Guardiola's first signing for Manchester City when City paid Dortmund about £20 million for his signature.

I am just as proud of my Turkish roots as I am of my German heritage. Ilkay Gündoğan​.

Can City win the Champions League?

Manchester City had one of their greatest European nights by beating Barcelona 3-1, but can they now be described as one of the favourites to win the competition? City not only beat Barcelona but they were also the better team and could have scored more goals. Ilkay Gündoğan was fantastic but Kevin De Bruyne also had a great match and with players like Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling in the side they are always going to score goals. City also have one of the best managers in world football - Pep Guardiola. Despite these positives, City are still inexperienced in Europe. They have never reached the final of the Champions League and this was the first time they have beaten Barcelona in six attempts. City look great going forward but is their defence good enough to win the Champions League? Tell us what you think in the vote at the bottom of the page.

How much Football English did you learn?

There was a lot of football vocabulary in this article. Try the quiz below and test your understanding of football vocabulary. You can find all the answers in bold in the text above.

What do you think?

Manchester City beat Barcelona 3-1. Did you watch the match? What did you think to City's performance? Can they win the Champions League?

Who do you think will win the Champions League this season? What about Arsenal, Spurs and Leicester? Can they do it?

Ilkay Gundogan has four goals in his last two matches. What do you know about him? Is he better than Yaya Toure?