This time the problem with Ilkay Gundogan was not when he was on the pitch but when he was off it. The treble-winning captain’s performance against Tottenham had felt a symbolically sad occasion, a match when the only thing he did quickly was decline. Three days later, Gundogan was exuding authority again, smoothly stylish when scoring one goal and helping set up another.
He was taken off, Pep Guardiola looking ahead to Sunday’s trip to Anfield, rationalising: “Ilkay is the only fit holding midfielder we have”. There were two flaws in his thinking. Firstly that Manchester City, 3-0 up against Feyenoord, contrived to draw 3-3 without the authority of a senior figure. The second is that Gundogan isn’t really a holding midfielder at all: a distributor can be a regista but he is more a constructive than a destructive presence. In his prime, he was a catalyst for City in the final third, not the middle third.
