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As German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan joins Barcelona as a free agent, here are five of his most memorable moments as a Manchester City player.
Ilkay Gundogan has officially been announced as a Barcelona player, ending his seven-year association with English giants Manchester City.
The German midfielder departs Manchester City as a free agent following the expiration of his contract after joining the club from Borussia Dortmund in July 2016 for €27 million from Borussia Dortmund.
In seven years at the Etihad Stadium, the 32-year-old won five Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, two FA Cups, two Community Shields and most recently a Champions League trophy to complete a historic treble.
But beyond the trophies, Gundogan’s legendary status at Manchester City is cemented by key moments over the last seven years, here are five of the very best.
Top 5 Ilkay Gundogan moments at Manchester City
Ilkay Gundogan punishing his future club Barcelona
Manchester City defeated Barcelona 3-1 on November 1, 2016, in a UEFA Champions League group stage game at the Etihad Stadium and Gundogan was a major factor.
The German midfielder still playing in his injury-laden debut season for Manchester City scored two goals to help his present team defeat his future team.
Of course, Gundogan could not have known he was scoring against the team he would be joining in seven years but it was the first of many memorable moments at Manchester City for the German.
Lionel Messi opened the scoring 21 minutes into the game to silence the home ground and put pressure on the hosts but they rallied back in the first half.
Manchester City capitalised on a defensive error by Barcelona as Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling combined to set up Gundogan with an easy tap-in and the German international’s trademark late arrival into the box was rewarded with a 39th-minute goal.
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Kevin De Bruyne converted a direct freekick to put City in the lead in the 51st minute after which Gundogan popped up again to effectively end the game as a contest.
Another simple finish from close range was all it took as Gundogan was in the right place at the right time to benefit from Aguero’s set-up in the 74th minute.
Ilkay Gundogan humiliating Davinson Sanchez and Tottenham
With football and the world in general still recovering from the pandemic and its effects, Gundogan showed no regard for human life.
Manchester City hosted Tottenham in a Premier League game at an empty Etihad Stadium and they romped to a routine 3-0 win in which Gundogan delivered a brilliant performance.
The German maestro won a penalty in the first half which Rodri converted to open the scoring and then he scored the second just five minutes into the second half.
Gundogan’s and Manchester City’s third goal was by far the most memorable with Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez being the unfortunate casualty.
Ederson hit a long ball forward which was deftly controlled by Gundogan, faced by only one Tottenham defender, the aforementioned Sanchez.
The midfielder twisted and turned his marker, forcing him to faceplant into the grass and then proceeded to finish off the move to complete his brace in the 66th minute.
As for Sanchez, he would be grateful there were no fans in the stadium to witness his humiliation but the millions around the world who watched it on television still cannot forget it, come on Gundo, that man has a family!
Premier League title-winning Ilkay Gundogan
Manchester City came into the final matchday of the 2021/22 Premier League season needing a win at home to Aston Villa to seal the league title ahead of the chasing Liverpool.
The Cityzens did get the victory they needed but under extremely dramatic circumstances which they are quite familiar with at the Etihad Stadium.
Ex-Liverpool man Phillippe Coutinho scored in the 69th minute to put Villa 2-0 up and his former club in the driving seat to win the title.
A minute before Coutinho’s goal, Pep Guardiola had sent on Gundogan in hopes of scoring an equaliser when they were still 1-o down thanks to Matty Cash’s first-half goal.
Gundo wasted no time to impact the game, pulling a goal back in the 76th minute, connecting to Raheem Sterling’s cross with a back-post header.
Rodri equalised in the 78th minute but the real decisive moment came three minutes later when Gundogan arrived at the back-post as he so often does and tapped home the match and title winner.
It was a clutch moment to rival the famous “Agueroooooooooooooooooooo!!!” title-winner from 2012 against QPR. It was the moment Gundogan truly stepped into legendary status at the Etihad.
FA Cup-winning Ilkay Gundogan
This Gundogan moment was more recent, on June 3, 2023, the German international wrote his name all over the FA Cup final and it did not take him long at all.
The 32-year-old volleyed home a goal-of-the-season contender just 13 seconds into the FA Cup final against city rivals Manchester United.
The goal at Wembley Stadium is the fastest ever scored in an FA Cup final, surpassing Louis Saha’s 25-second strike for Everton against Chelsea in the 2009 final.
Bruno Fernandes equalised for Manchester United after 33 minutes via a penalty but Gundogan was not done writing his name in history.
In the 51st minute, Captain Fantastic came up clutch again with another volley, this time with his left foot to win the FA Cup for Manchester City.
That turned out to be his last goal for the club and sealed the second trophy in Manchester City’s historic treble.
Ilkay Gundogan the treble-winning captain
Gundogan’s last game as a Manchester City player was in the UEFA Champions League final at the Ataturk Olimpiyat Stadium in Istanbul against Inter Milan.
Rodri was the hero of the night for the Cityzens as he scored the only goal but it was Gundogan who made history as the first and only Manchester City captain to lift the UEFA Champions League trophy.
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As Manchester City also became only the eighth team to win the European treble, Gundogan was the 10th captain to achieve that feat.
It is only fitting that his seven-year association with the club ended with the highest possible achievement and now the veteran will head to FC Barcelona with hopes of achieving even more success.
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