PEP: LET’S BECOME SERIAL WINNERS LIKE BARCA
MIDFIELDER GUNDOGAN ALSO SAYS CHELSEA MATCH WILL BE A TEST
CITY’S showdown with Liverpool in a fortnight could be a telling moment in this season’s title race.
Blues midfielder Ilkay Gundogan pinpointed that Anfield clash - and the trip to Stamford Bridge in December - as critical to City’s defence of the Premier League trophy.
Gundogan scored a classic goal and produced a man-of-the-match performance as the Blues bounced back to form with a 5-0 win at Cardiff. That kept City two points behind the leaders and, with a tight race anticipated, the six points at stake when two of the hopefuls meet could well be decisive.
Gundogan said: “At the moment it looks like those games will be important. We play Liverpool in a couple of weeks so it will be a real test for us at Anfield, they are also getting their points.
“Liverpool is a very strong team and Chelsea are very strong. United just dropped points against Wolves like we did, so I think Wolves will cause a lot of problems.”
But Gundogan feels that the title is still City’s to lose, despite Liverpool’s six straight wins to start the season.
“It’s up to us in the end, we are trying to play like we did at Cardiff because when we are ready, like we were on Saturday, our chances to win games and titles are the highest so that’s what we try to achieve every game.”
Gundogan also played down the X-rated challenge from Cardiff’s Joe Ralls which only received a yellow card from referee Michael Oliver.
He was caught high on the shin by Ralls’ studs but the Germany international did not make a big issue of the matter.
“It’s a little bit sore and a little bit painful now, but I was lucky. It was a bad challenge but it’s OK,” he said.
Liverpool is a very strong team and Chelsea are very strong Ilkay Gundogan