CITY V BRISTOL CITY Ilkay is just ning for more games
CITY’S hunt for four trophies is actually making them STRONGER.
The Blues face Bristol City in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal tonight, which means they are just a couple of wins away from securing their first silverware under Pep Guardiola.
The accepted wisdom is that fighting for the elusive Quadruple dissipates your resources and can end with your season collapsing around your ears.
But Blues midfielder Ilkay Gundogan says the opposite is happening at City – and he is living proof! The Germany international has had a slow-burning season due to injury and the brilliant form of David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne.
However, he burst into life with two superb assists for Sergio Aguero as City turned around their FA Cup third round tie against Burnley at the weekend. And he held that up as proof that the more games City play, the more chances the fringe players like himself, Danilo, Bernardo Silva, Eliaquim Mangala and Aleks Zinchenko get to hone their form.
“I think the more games we have, the more opportunities to change players,” said Gundogan.
“If we have less games then a player, two or three players, will sit on the bench unsatisfied with their situation. But we have a lot of games and we just have to change because a player cannot play every single match. So if a player is playing more, he’s going to be happier.
“That was also my own situation over the last month.
“I was quite sure we are going to have so many games coming and always have the opportunities for me to play, to get minutes, to get a rhythm.
“When I don’t play I’m not the happiest person on Earth, but the next day I’m convinced my chance will come again and I’m going to play again. It’s a positive thing being in more competitions. “Of course we know we are situated well in all competitions and the first one is the Carabao Cup. “If we don’t win it, we will be disappointed” City are strong favourites to win the Carabao Cup, with Arsenal and Chelsea drawn against each other in the other semi. But Gundogan says Bristol’s quarter-final win over United means they will be treated as a real danger. “I’ve watched the highlights,” he said. “But just the fact they beat United shows we need to take this game very seriously. “They showed they are able to break teams, so we are aware of it. But despite all these facts, our aim is to beat them. “We are in the semis now and we want to go to the final and win it.”