Gundogan shapes ‘destiny’ with Manchester City but could still depart after Champions League final

Analysis Gundogan shapes ‘destiny’ with Manchester City but could still depart after Champions League final
Manchester City's German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan celebrates with the trophy on the pitch after the English FA Cup final football match between Manchester City and Manchester United. (File/AFP)
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Updated 04 June 2023
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Gundogan shapes ‘destiny’ with Manchester City but could still depart after Champions League final

Gundogan shapes ‘destiny’ with Manchester City but could still depart after Champions League final
  • The German’s match-winning performance in the FA Cup final could prove his penultimate for Pep Guardiola’s team
  • Teammate John Stones calls his captain an ‘incredible player’ after 2 goals secured a league and cup double for City

It seems somewhat bewildering that the influential Ilkay Gundogan stands on the brink of captaining Manchester City to the greatest season in their 129-year history — and yet could leave for nothing at the end of this month.

As manager Pep Guardiola and teammates urge him to resist the intoxicating beauty of Barcelona and sign a new contract extension, the midfielder may well leave it to fate to sway the outcome of his uncertain future.

Earlier this season, Gundogan told Arab News how he felt “it’s destiny” that he has been a game-changer for the club and helped them rewrite English football’s record books.

“Sooner or later you will be regarded for the good you are doing, not just in football,” said the German, 32.

The precedent was set last season by his two dramatic late goals to inspire City’s 3-2 final-day comeback win over Aston Villa, having been 2-0 down with 14 minutes left, and clinch the Premier League title.

This season too he has shown the ability to affect games with decisive strikes or cunning, controlled performances — he provides calm amid chaos.

On Saturday, Gundogan’s two goals clinched a 2-1 win over Manchester United and an FA Cup and Premier League Double — a second for City in four years.

The first effort was an exquisite right-foot volley into the top corner after 12 seconds — the fastest in the 151-year history of the FA Cup — and then followed by an ugly left-footed finish that bounced past David De Gea.

It was a combination of grace and grit, masterful and yet messy.

These qualities are usually reserved for the sport’s best players, the ones able to define games, and those revered by their fan base and appreciated by their peers.

Gundogan does not have a catchy chant like Bernardo Silva, nor serenaded in the manner of Kevin De Bruyne, but he has been every bit as vital to City’s progress and success since he joined in 2016, while still recovering from a serious knee injury at former club Borussia Dortmund.

He does not covet attention but deserves appreciation for his contribution.

“Exceptional” is how Guardiola described Gundogan, while England defender John Stones added: “What a player. On the big occasion we’ve all seen it, he turns up and scores incredible goals.

“How he dictates everything, he’s an incredible player and incredible person.”

“He’s been incredible for the seven years he’s been here,” said De Bruyne. “In the big moments he steps up. He isn’t afraid and he scores great goals. Definitely, he should sign now.”

No one would begrudge Gundogan financial security for his family with at least a two-year deal, with his next contract also likely to be his final one at an elite European club.

And no one would begrudge him the perfect ending next Saturday either, should City claim victory in Istanbul over Inter Milan in the Champions League final to match the 1999 Treble feat of neighbors United.

“We have a chance to do something special and win the Treble and we do not want to let this opportunity pass us by,” said Gundogan. “I can promise our fans we will do everything we can to win in Istanbul.

“It’s my seventh year now. I’ve never stayed that long at a football club. So that alone shows how much I appreciate the club, how much also I feel appreciated from the fans, my teammates, it’s an absolute joy to be part of this team, to work with Pep and his staff.

“Now we want to crown it with that final. The last game of the season, a very, very special one — maybe the most special so far for us all in our careers — and obviously we want to win it.

“We know it’s going to be a very uncomfortable game, a very uncomfortable opponent. I think it’s going to be tough, but this group of players has shown already we don’t avoid the tough challenges.”

On Saturday, once Bruno Fernandes had rolled home a penalty to cancel out Gundogan’s opener, City rose to the challenge in a tense first Manchester derby cup final.

They withstood late pressure and calmed nerves with the steely defense and resilience that will be required too against Inter, as Stones added: “Our mindset and approach, our courage, was incredible. We’ve crossed this hurdle now and we can dream — hopefully we can do it.”

This Wembley showpiece was a big hurdle for City, tactically and mentally, against a United side also keen to remain the only English side to win a Treble.

But Erik Ten Hag’s side were not aggressive enough, nor able to produce the attacking quality to breach a backline that has conceded just the Fernandes spot-kick in this season’s competition.

The Dutchman said United were “broken” in defeat and he now has a difficult task to fix them.

If there is to be a takeover from Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani or INEOS CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe, it needs to be quickly finalized by the Glazer family to aid Ten Hag’s summer plans.

It would be wrong to say United are spineless, but they need improvements in the spine of their side, from goalkeeper to striker.

Despite De Gea’s 17 clean sheets that won him the Golden Gloves award for the most in the Premier League, the Spaniard has made notable errors that have put his future under intense scrutiny — and his positioning was suspect for both goals.

Ten Hag said: “In this moment, I don’t want to talk about such issues of criticism because we played all a great season, including David De Gea.

“As a team, we didn’t do the jobs we had to do and if you want to win trophies, details in big games make the difference and it’s hard to accept, but we have to.

“Of course it’s a motivation, you have to feel it in your stomach, it hurts. It has to be fuel.”

Ten Hag will have to stoke United’s fire with new signings and, while Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount is in talks, the caliber of West Ham captain Declan Rice, Tottenham’s Harry Kane or Napoli’s Victor Osimhen should be high on the wish list.

“I have only one plan, that is to improve this club and to improve this team,” added the United boss, whose side finished third in the league and won the League Cup.

“I will fight for it. We have to work — the manager, the staff, the players, to get the progress in.”


Nervy Arsenal extend Premier League lead, Burnley score five

Nervy Arsenal extend Premier League lead, Burnley score five
Updated 02 December 2023
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Nervy Arsenal extend Premier League lead, Burnley score five

Nervy Arsenal extend Premier League lead, Burnley score five
  • Bukayo Saka opened the scoring and Arsenal doubled their lead when Oleksandr Zinchenko cut the ball back for Martin Odegaard
  • The home side came agonizingly close to a third goal when Gabriel Martinelli cannoned a shot off the post toward the end of the first half

LONDON: Arsenal survived a late scare against Wolves on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League as Burnley lifted themselves off the bottom with a 5-0 trouncing of 10-man Sheffield United.
The big win for Vincent Kompany’s men briefly sent Everton to the foot of the table but Sean Dyche’s team beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the evening kick-off to edge clear.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, brimming with confidence after their 6-0 hammering of Lens in the Champions League in midweek, raced into a 2-0 lead at the Emirates within 13 minutes.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring and Arsenal doubled their lead when Oleksandr Zinchenko cut the ball back for Martin Odegaard, who picked out the bottom corner as they threatened to run riot.
The home side came agonizingly close to a third goal when Gabriel Martinelli cannoned a shot off the post toward the end of the first half.
But they failed to put the game to bed and were made to sweat when Wolves forward Matheus Cunha found the top corner in the 86th minute to set up a tense finale.
Despite the wobble, Arsenal, last year’s runners-up, held on to win 2-1 and notch their 10th win in 14 league games, which moves them four points clear of champions Manchester City, who host Tottenham on Sunday.
“I can only praise the players,” said Arteta.
“They were excellent. We played against a really good side and generated so much and conceded almost nothing. The scoreline should have been very different. We were very unlucky because we hit the post three times I think.
“At the end we made an error close to the goal — in the Premier League you get punished big time for that. Then it’s game on. Overall I’m really happy with how we performed again.”
At the other end of the table, Burnley put five goals past Sheffield United at Turf Moor.
Jay Rodriguez fired the home side ahead with just 15 seconds on the clock — the fastest goal of the season so far.
Jacob Bruun Larsen extended their lead and Sheffield United’s task was made almost impossible when Oli McBurnie received a second yellow card shortly before the break.
Zeki Amdouni made it 3-0 in the 73rd minute, with Luca Koleosho and Josh Brownhill also finding the net as the floodgates opened.
Paul Heckingbottom’s men are now bottom — stuck on just a single win and they have now conceded five goals or more on three occasions this season.
But Burnley are just two points from safety after only their second win of the season — and Kompany said he hoped the three points would be a launch pad.
“I think the guys have deserved it,” he told the BBC. “They have performed well for a while. This league is brutal.
“I haven’t felt the nerves (from the team). I could barely contain them, they were raring to go. The frustration of last week (conceding two late goals against West Ham) didn’t turn into negativity. It turned into ‘we’ll show people’.”
Luton, just outside the drop zone, sank to a 3-1 defeat at Brentford, with Neal Maupay, Ben Mee and Shandon Baptiste on target for the Bees.
Everton, hit last month with a swingeing 10-point deduction for breaking Premier League financial rules, against which they have appealed, are above Burnley on goal difference.
Dwight McNeil broke the deadlock midway through the second half, smashing the ball into the top corner, as Everton secured a third consecutive away win.
In the late match, Newcastle face Manchester United at St. James’ Park, where a win for either side would lift them to fifth place in the table at the expense of Tottenham.


Euro 2024 draw ceremony interrupted by noises in German concert hall in claimed social media prank

Euro 2024 draw ceremony interrupted by noises in German concert hall in claimed social media prank
Updated 02 December 2023
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Euro 2024 draw ceremony interrupted by noises in German concert hall in claimed social media prank

Euro 2024 draw ceremony interrupted by noises in German concert hall in claimed social media prank
  • The interruption, which seemed to sound like sexual noises, was clearly heard for several minutes
  • A British prankster claimed credit on social media for the stunt

HAMBURG, Germany: The draw ceremony for the European Championship in men’s soccer was disrupted by unexplained noises that competed for attention with the team names being read out on stage on Saturday.
The interruption, which seemed to sound like sexual noises, was clearly heard for several minutes on the ceremony broadcast from a concert hall in Hamburg.
A British prankster claimed credit on social media for the stunt and posted footage of himself making cell phone calls to activate a ring tone in the venue which has excellent accoustics.
UEFA director of competitions Giorgio Marchetti noted the noise in his commentary before continuing with the draw for the last five places for lower-ranked teams in the 24-nation tournament lineup. The sound continued sporadically until the draw was completed.
Similar noises disrupted a BBC live broadcast of an English soccer game in January between Wolverhampton and Liverpool. It turned out to be a prank use of a mobile phone next to the studio.
Euro 2024 is being played in 10 Germany cities from June 14 to July 14.


Italy and Spain drawn together in Euro 2024 group stage

Italy and Spain drawn together in Euro 2024 group stage
Updated 02 December 2023
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Italy and Spain drawn together in Euro 2024 group stage

Italy and Spain drawn together in Euro 2024 group stage
  • Much-fancied England will meet Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia Hosts
  • Germany take on Scotland in the tournament’s opening game on June 14 in Munich

HAMBURG, Germany: Reigning champions Italy were placed in the same group as Spain in Saturday’s draw for Euro 2024, while France will come up against the Netherlands.
Much-fancied England will meet Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia, with hosts Germany taking on Scotland in the tournament’s opening game on June 14 in Munich.
Italy, who beat England on penalties at Wembley in the final of the last European Championship in 2021, and Spain will also face Croatia and Albania in Group B.
Spain, victors over Italy in the final of Euro 2012, will take on 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia in their opening match in Berlin on June 15.
The meeting of France, the 2022 World Cup runners-up, and the Netherlands will be the other heavyweight tie of the opening phase.
They were in the same section in qualifying, with France winning both encounters. The two nations are in Group D along with Austria and a play-off winner, which will be one of Poland, Wales, Finland or Estonia.
England, in contrast, will have few complaints about their opponents in Group C, although a Denmark side ranked 19th in the world were arguably the team to avoid from the second pot of seeds.
Gareth Southgate’s team, considered the favorites along with France for the tournament, will take on Serbia in their opening game in Gelsenkirchen on June 16.
Scotland, who famously lost to Brazil in the opening match of the 1998 World Cup, will again have the honor of featuring in the tournament’s curtain-raiser when they meet Germany to start in Group A.
Hungary and Switzerland complete that section, which could be one of the most evenly-matched.
Euro 2016 winners Portugal were drawn in Group F with Turkiye, the Czech Republic and a play-off winner from either Greece, Georgia, Luxembourg or Kazakhstan.
Belgium are in Group E alongside Slovakia, Romania and the winner of the other play-off path, which will be Israel, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Ukraine.
The month-long Euro will conclude with the final in Berlin on July 14.
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the last 16, along with the four best third-placed sides.


Xavi calls on Felix to let Atletico criticism inspire him

Xavi calls on Felix to let Atletico criticism inspire him
Updated 02 December 2023
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Xavi calls on Felix to let Atletico criticism inspire him

Xavi calls on Felix to let Atletico criticism inspire him
  • Atletico playmaker Antoine Griezmann this week said Felix lacked “consistency” or “got tired” of finding it
  • “(The criticism) should be extra motivation against Atletico,” Xavi told reporters Saturday

BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez called on Joao Felix to use criticism from his former Atletico Madrid team-mates to motivate him when the teams meet on Sunday in La Liga.
The Portuguese forward, on loan at Barca from Atletico Madrid, failed to convince coach Diego Simeone during four years in the Spanish capital.
Atletico playmaker Antoine Griezmann this week said Felix lacked “consistency” or “got tired” of finding it, while midfielder Saul Niguez also said Felix had plenty to improve on.
Simeone said Saturday he did not want to speak about the forward because he was not at the club, despite still being an Atletico player.
“(The criticism) should be extra motivation against Atletico,” Xavi told reporters Saturday.
“I see he is motivated and happy, he is being consistent, I am happy with his performance and how he has adapted to the group.”
Barcelona loaned Atletico’s record 126 million euro ($137 million) signing in the summer and after an impressive start, he began to struggle.
Felix scored his first goal in 13 matches against Porto on Tuesday as Barcelona secured qualification to the Champions League last 16.
The victory helped quieten the negative noises around the club after a string of bad performances and Xavi hopes they can build on it against Atletico.
“We have to find our game, the second half against Porto was very good ... we have to be more consistent,” said the coach.
“We can’t say we’re in our best moment of the season, (but) we have had some very good minutes.
“We have to improve our performances and the consequence will be good results.”
Xavi confirmed goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was still sidelined because of back pain and will not feature at the weekend.
Champions Barcelona are fourth after last weekend’s draw at Rayo Vallecano, while Atletico Madrid are third, level with the Catalans on 31 points.
Simeone said his team was still at a disadvantage against the traditional big two — Barcelona and Real Madrid — but were always looking to level the playing field.
“In principle Barcelona and Madrid start with more chance of winning, but in recent times we’ve cut the gap,” said the coach.
“This is about deeds and not words, and we will keep working to keep cutting into it.”


Bayern Munich’s game with Union Berlin called off due to snow

Bayern Munich’s game with Union Berlin called off due to snow
Updated 02 December 2023
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Bayern Munich’s game with Union Berlin called off due to snow

Bayern Munich’s game with Union Berlin called off due to snow
  • “It was decided not to play the game because of the security risks for all involved,” Union said in a statement
  • The German soccer federation said that stadium management had made the decision not to host the game “due to persistent heavy snowfall”

MUNICH, Germany: Bayern Munich’s home game against Union Berlin was called off Saturday because of heavy snowfall.
Cold weather, snowfall and ice have caused transport chaos in Munich and southern Germany.
“It was decided not to play the game because of the security risks for all involved,” Union said in a statement 5½ hours before the Bundesliga game was due to start.
The German soccer federation said that stadium management had made the decision not to host the game “due to persistent heavy snowfall.”
It came after a winter storm dumped snow across southern Germany and parts of Austria and Switzerland, affecting travel across the region.
“We very much regret that we have to postpone the match, but the safety of our fans and the supporters of Union Berlin has absolute priority,” said Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen, who referred to the “numerous road closures and various public transport cancelations.”
Flight operations at Munich airport were canceled until 6 a.m. Sunday, and numerous railway lines around Munich had to be closed. News agency dpa reported that some passengers in Munich and the nearby city of Ulm spent Friday night on trains because of the service suspensions.
The Union team had been in Munich since Thursday after traveling directly there from their Champions League game at Braga in Portugal on Wednesday.
Club spokesperson Katharina Brendel said the team and staff were already on their way home Saturday using a combination of “bus, car and mini-bus.”
With Bundesliga leader Bayer Leverkusen not playing until Sunday, Bayern had been hoping to move provisionally atop the standings on Saturday with a win over Union, which are on a 15-game winless run across all competitions.
Leverkusen are due to host Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.