Pep Guardiola claims Man City midfielder’s performance against Newcastle was “one of the worst I’ve ever seen” in nine years | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola offered a brutally honest assessment of Ilkay Gundogan’s performance for the club against Newcastle United last weekend.

The German midfielder is expected to play a more significant role in Manchester City’s starting set-up over the coming months and the foreseeable future, particularly in light of Rodri’s extensive injury absence sustained last week.

Operating in the defensive midfield role against Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday night, Gundogan scored his first goal for Manchester City since rejoining the club, and his first goal for them since his FA Cup final heroics against Manchester United in 2023.

That showing in Slovakia and an all-round strong performance from the 33-year-old came in strong contrast to a disappointing performance against Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday, when City were held to a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park.

Speaking after Manchester City’s victory in Slovakia, Pep Guardiola gave an honest assessment of Ilkay Gundogan’s performance against Newcastle prior to the midweek contest, but admitted the showing against Slovan Bratislava was closer to the German’s usual standards.

“Today (Tuesday night) he played at a level that we know he can do it. It’s his strong mentality,” said Guardiola. “The game in Newcastle was not really, really good, maybe one of the worst I’ve ever seen from him in the last eight or nine years!”

He continued, “But it happens, it’s rhythm. And that’s why he has to play, and in his position and holding midfield he’s so intelligent. He played a fantastic game today. Apart from the goal, the first one, he made a fantastic game.”

The 0-4 dominant victory in Bratislava now means that alongside Manchester City scoring their first goals and claiming their first three points of the new league phase season in the UEFA Champions League, they find themselves much higher in the table.

The opening matchday 0-0 draw against Inter Milan saw Pep Guardiola’s side languishing in 19th in the division, while their win this week moves them towards the automatic qualification spots in the group for the knock-out stages with six games remaining.