Less dominant than last season, Manchester City seems particularly handicapped by the departure this summer of Ilkay Gündogan. A void not yet filled.
The Premier League season is now well underway and for the moment, the title race seems very open. After eight days, the first seven are within a gap of six small points. If everything still has plenty of time to change, it is clear that for the reigning champion, things are less easy than last season. Third before hosting Brighton this Saturday (9th day), the Mancunian club remains on two consecutive defeats in the league and is two points behind Tottenham and Arsenal. A reason for this slightly less lively start to the season than usual has perhaps been found.
According to AS, it is the departure of a man who is causing difficulties for Pep Guardiola today. At the end of his contract last June, Ilkay Gündogan chose to turn the page on Manchester City to join FC Barcelona. And since then, there has been a void in the midfield on the Skyblues side. The Spanish media explains that this absence caused the drop in offensive performance of Guardiola’s team. The performance of Mateo Kovacic, recruited to replace the German international, is currently not as effective as expected and since Rodri is not on the pitch, City’s level of performance suffers.
Fewer goals scored
Gündogan’s other strength was his ability to become a scorer. A quality that Manchester has not yet found with its new recruit. Overall, the Cityzens scored ten goals fewer than last year at the same stage of the season in the league. And as AS points out, Gündogan had already scored three goals.
