Ilkay Gündoğan praised the steadfastness and resilience of Manchester City’s defense after beating Newcastle United 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day.
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The German international opened the scoring after 14 minutes, changing slowly after Raheem Sterling’s cut-off.
Ferran Torres scored the second five minutes before the hour mark, before Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero came close to making three.
Pep Guardiola’s men dug into another defensive round in the league boasting the best defensive record in the top flight, conceding just 12 times in 14 games and Gundogan quickly praised the team’s tough nature. this season.
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“We have stood firm in our defense,” he admitted. “If we can keep it firmly at the back and not give in, we will always give ourselves a chance because we know we are going to set goals.
“In the first half in particular, I felt like we moved the ball well. We got the opener, which is always important. The weather wasn’t so good here today, but I thought it was a tough achievement.
“Good win and three important points and in less than 48 hours, we’ll go again.”
The 30-year-old filled his second league goal of the season and feels despite missing Gabriel Jesus after testing positive for COVID-19 and Sergio Aguero not being 100% Appropriately, City have deep strength to find goals from others within the team.
“I think we should always share the responsibility for scoring on the pitch,” he said. “Of course we miss some good players but the quality of our players is great. join the team to deal with them, such as Ferran [Torres], played as the striker today and scored. Of course, this is something we need, quality and hard work to achieve. “
The midfielder also gave us an insight into how the team managed to break down the visitors, defend with a deep block and seemed happy to go under pressure.
“I think Newcastle tried to push a little more in the second half and it was about finding the perfect balance and deciding when to go ahead, and being patient. waiting for one of their players to jump, and when they did, try and find the free player.
“I think we did it well and we could have earned more. We had opportunities to do that but of course the important thing is that we have all three points.
“We want to try to take it step by step. With all the games coming in a tight schedule, it ‘s even more important to get three points.
“Football may not always be beautiful and amazing, but I think in general in the world of football, it’s hard to be like that every game. We have to win where we’re working hard because those are worth three points. “
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