Ilkay Gundogan thinks his anger at being benched for the Premier League finale fuelled his title-winning performance against Aston Villa.
The Manchester City midfielder had watched their 2-2 draw the previous week as a substitute, so was taken aback when he found out he was not back in the starting XI for the final game of the season, with Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne preferred in midfield instead. For the second week running, the 31-year-old had been left out of a game where the title was on the line.
A sluggish City were 1-0 down by the time G undogan were introduced in the 68th minute and seconds later Philippe Coutinho doubled Villa’s lead. Remarkably, Pep Guardiola’s side still topped the table but knew that one goal from Liverpool at Anfield against Wolves would leave them needing to score three.
