Manchester City supporters have shared ‘sad’ footage of Ilkay Gundogan during their Champions League defeat by Juventus – as the star pinpointed one of their key issues.
The reigning Premier League champions saw their slump continue on Wednesday night, with Juventus emerging at 2-0 winners in Turin.
Pep Guardiola’s side fell behind in the early stages of the second half, with Dusan Vlahovic opened the scoring in the 53rd minute for the Old Lady.
Second-half substitute Weston McKennie doubled Juventus’ advantage at the Allianz Stadium with an acrobatic strike.
One Man City fan highlighted a clip of Gundogan during the match, which appeared to show the German struggling to track back.
The 34-year-old was seen running back from the Juventus penalty area, but was rapidly overtaken by one of the Italian outfit’s players, who was seen sprinting past the midfielder.
Man City fans highlighted footage appearing to show Ilkay Gundogan struggling to track back
A Man City supporter claimed the footage was ‘sad’, suggesting the 34-year-old is ‘finished physically’.
Another, however, came to Gundogan’s defence, highlighting that the veteran midfielder is currently required to play every three days in the heart of Man City’s side amid their injury issues.
Gundogan, who led Man City to the Treble in 2023, had rejoined the club in the summer on a free transfer following a one year spell at Barcelona.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Gundogan admitted that Man City are currently struggling in transition during matches and were conceding too many goals from counter attacking situations.
‘At the moment it feels like every attack we concede, it’s so dangerous,’ Gundogan said.
‘I have a feeling sometimes we’re a bit careless in duels, instead of playing simple we over-complicate things, and we miss the right timing to pass or release the ball, and just losing balls.
‘They score on the transition every time and gives them counter-attacks and we have to chase every time 50, 60 metres back.
‘That’s not what we’re built for; we’re built for possession, keeping the ball, being strong. Even if you cannot do anything in a duel, don’t lose it. At the moment it’s just not working out for us.’
Gundogan admitted post-match Man City are struggling to defend against counter attacks
Man City were beaten 2-0 by Juventus to extend a run of only one victory in 10 matches
‘(Confidence) is a big part of it and obviously that’s a mental issue as well. I feel like you can see we are, one action we miss the ball or lose the duel and you see we drop immediately and lose the rhythm.
‘They are able to break our rhythm with the smallest of things. In the crucial moments right now we are always doing the wrong things.’
The latest defeat means Man City have won just one of their last 10 matches in all competitions, with the result leaving their Champions League hopes at risk.
Guardiola’s side are currently 22nd in the league phase of the competition, which would be enough to advance to a play-off round, but the club are only one point above the elimination places.