Gundogan’s impressive goal spree continues at Goodison as he fires City to another win

Ilkay Gundogan has been somewhat of a revelation this season.

The midfielder again impressed netting his 13th goal of the season in a 2-0 victory over Everton as Manchester City booked another trip to Wembley for their FA Cup semi-final.

In what was a tough game for Pep Guardiola’s side, City found it difficult to break down a resolute Everton team.

Carlo Ancelotti set out his stall and it was clear to see from the offset that Everton would sit back and allow Manchester City to have a large share of possession, often inviting pressure from the away team as they sat deep.

In this sort of game plan with chances few and far between, the Toffees looked to make the most of their set-piece opportunities with the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Yerry Mina providing a physical presence.

The Columbian, Mina, went closest with a headed effort during the first-half, however City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko was there to clear it off the line.

In the main City managed to snuffle out any danger and defended well throughout, with Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias displaying another faultless performance at the heart of the defence.

City found it difficult at times to break down the Everton wall with the likes of Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling struggling to make an impact on the game.

Both were swapped for Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne, which in the end proved pivotal as the Belgian created the first and scored the second, which eventually finished off a resilient Everton side.

At a time where the game was looking destined for extra-time, it was Ilkay Gundogan, who, not for the first time this season, held the key to unlock a tight defence.

The German grabbed the opener with 84 minutes on the clock as he nodded in from close range, helping Manchester City on the way to their fourth FA Cup semi-final in five seasons.

Alongside this, City sit 14 points clear at the top of the Premier League, face Borussia Dortmund in the last eight of the Champions League, whilst they also have a Carabao Cup final to look forward to at the end of April.

Not a bad time to be a Blue it would seem.

But this season hasn’t been easy as they hunt for a spectacular quad, facing games every three to four days in a hectic schedule.

One player that has stepped up on numerous occasions and made this possible is Gundogan.

Arguably in the best form of his career, the German midfielder is having a spectacular season and notched his 13th goal in all competitions in the 2-0 win over Everton.

Photo credit: Sky Sports

An incredible feat for a player, who, at the start of the season was hardly considered a goal threat, often playing in a much deeper role for the large part of his Manchester City career.

So what changed you may ask?

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is known to strive for perfection and has sought to achieve this  throughout his managerial tenure.

When things weren’t going his way earlier this season, he held talks with the City hierarchy as they looked to strip things back to basics aiming to rediscover their form during the successful years of 2017/18 and 2018/19.

The talks, which occurred after City’s 1-1 draw at home to West Brom, proved pivotal in aiming to turn their season around, as it became clear to Guardiola amongst others that things must change:

“We had to come back to our game, move the ball quicker, do more passes, stay in position, run less with the ball, do it together. We don’t have a specific player to win games, we have to do it together.”

The epiphany that occurred led to a run of form no one could’ve imagined, as the Blues went on a staggering 21 game win streak in all competitions, breaking all kinds of records along the way.

One of the fascinating tweaks that Pep made was the emergence of full-back Joao Cancelo pushing into midfield when City have possession.

First tried and tested at Bayern Munich using Joshua Kimmich in the same role, he has opted to use Cancelo in a similar fashion.

This concept in itself is something brand new to the English game, a complete game changer, as Guardiola believes it gives his team more control and offers more for his side when in possession.

The new role of Cancelo has been pivotal to the drastic rise in Gundogan’s form.

As the full-back pushes into the midfield, it releases the likes of Gundogan to roam free and take up attacking positions without worrying about cover in defence – it really is poetry in motion.

“The more that you play with each other, the more that you play in the team together, the better the feeling that you get with a team-mate. I just have the feeling that over these past few weeks and months we were able to optimise every single connection on the pitch and that is probably a factor in why it is working out so well at the moment.”

This graphic just shows how even during the course of this season, the role of Ilkay Gundogan has changed:

Photo credit: SkySports

It is not just on the pitch where Gundogan is shining, off it he has received praise from his manager for the way he conducts himself in such a professional manner.

“He’s an incredible nice guy, I will never forget the time we spent together, great memories”

The midfielder has also been widely recognised for his selfless attitude, often putting the outcome of the team much further ahead than his own personal accolades.

He himself has recently stated that he is more interested in the team’s success opposed to how many goals he is scoring. With the number eight even going as far to say that he isn’t a fan of being centre of attention.

“It is about putting your ego to one side and allowing the team to shine, not just yourself. It is kind of weird, to be honest. It is something that I am not so used to. I am not the sort of guy who likes to be the centre of attention but I just have to deal with it.”

Gundogan was rewarded for his recent impeccable form as he collected the Premier League Player of the Month award for both January and February.

As the Blues head into the crunch part of the season with still four, yes four, trophies to play for, manager Pep Guardiola will be hoping that Gundogan’s impressive form doesn’t stop here as they aim to secure an astonishing quadruple.

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