90-year-old veteran turned Manchester City Zidane! Gua Shuai gave Gundogan what magic he used
Half a year ago, when Germany was out of the World Cup group, Gundogan's wind criticism came to the bottom. At that time, he had six months left to expire his contract, and not many people cared.
As a result, in the sprint stage of the season, he contributed 6 goals and 2 assists in 6 games, especially the FA Cup final, which gave Gundogan the new nickname of "Manchester City Zidane". Barca and Arsenal are hungry for talent, but he may also choose to stay with the boss.
01. 6 goals and 2 assists in 6 games: Gundogan's offensive talent was fully unleashed
a. Higher than Haaland: Gundogan has more opportunities
Pep Guardiola's 3241 formation, Gundogan and De Bruyne are more like midfielders than central midfielders. As Haaland increases the frequency of high-ball confrontations and retreats, Gundogan has more opportunities to step further up the front.
Gundogan himself is a weak attacking and defensive type, his forward scoring is very efficient, and his shot is decisive and fast. Gua Shuai's arrangement allowed his talent to be released.
Manchester City's current proportion of long passes to the front is not low, using Haaland's body to control the drop point, Gundogan and De Bruyne cut forward at the right time.
Because De Bruyne passes the ball well, once he has the ball, he can send a good pass to his teammates without stopping, further unleashing his rhythmic advantage.
Manchester City's opening 13-second goal was the result of Haaland's header winning the first point. De Bruyne hit the second point, and Gundogan was emptied.
Manchester United's expectation that Eriksen could defend Gundogan in attack was clearly impossible.
This goal also explains the reason for Pep Guardiola's success this season. After buying Haaland, Manchester City's front court is no longer "small", no longer relying too much on running output and technical advantages, but adding more confrontation.
Gundogan's forward insertion was also a hole in United's defense. Aaron Wan-Bissaka had no sense of adduction, Eriksen had a serious drop in return to the position, and Gundogan's beautiful shot left De Gea unresponsive.
b. 6 goals and 2 assists in 6 games: the result of the fit tactic
In the last six games in all competitions, Gundogan has contributed six goals and two assists. This included all five goals in Manchester City's two games with Leeds United and Everton.
At the same time, in the FA Cup final with Manchester United, he won two goals and became the number one contributor to Manchester City's sprint to win the double.
This Manchester City team is less rigid at their feet, and after adding long passes, both Kevin De Bruyne and Gundogan are more in tune with Haaland.
This time, Haaland took the ball and pushed forward against the Manchester United centre-back, leading his teammates to follow.
Gundogan predicted and received the second drop really well, Haaland was destroyed with the ball, Gundogan won the ball and distributed it to Grealish on the flank, followed by his own ribs in the box.
Although the first wave of crosses to find Haaland was cleared, Grealish crossed again and finally completed the shot. Unfortunately, Gundogan scored a goal in front of goal, but was blown offside and invalidated the first goal.
It should be noted that the goal is not counted, but Gundogan's tactical value in this process is clear at a glance.
Gundogan's second goal is still a bonus to City's current system. When Kevin De Bruyne was about to take a free-kick, City put up a two-tier, five-high position in the opposing penalty area, forcing United to focus all their attention on the inside.
Therefore, Gundogan at the top of the arc of the penalty area was not watched, but he received a pass from De Bruyne and scored a decisive goal.
02. Transformation into "Manchester City Zidane": Gundogan had holes in the defense in the second half
a. Transform into "Manchester City Zidane": can pass on and organize and advance
Because he was ridiculed by teammate Walker for transforming into "Zidane the Peak", Gundogan earned a new nickname. Not only does he score more goals, but the 32-year-old 90-year-old veteran Gundogan can also organize and deliver brilliant passes.
This time over the top ball to find Haaland, Gundogan's pass was very beautiful, but unfortunately the teammate's tackle could not hit the power.
Haaland has made some tactical sacrifices in the past few games, but his personal form is indeed mediocre and he has missed many scoring opportunities.
Gundogan is not only in front of the goal and delivering key passes in the game, he is also valuable in the advance.
This time, Manchester United's overall formation pressed forward to suppress Manchester City's backfield. The result was a Gundogan-led advance that successfully completed the break.
Manchester City's double backs and three central defenders all have strong possession of the ball. At the same time, they are all tall and powerful, and Gundogan happens to be the one who is dexterous and fast among the few of them (the same goes for the B seat on the other side).
When Casemiro came forward, Gundogan hit his teammate behind the back of the back after hitting the wall. Grealish pulled back to take away the Manchester United full-back, allowing De Bruyne to throw Fred's forward insertion, directly receiving a pass from Gundoan and finishing the shot into the box.
b. Gundogan is not good at defense: This was especially evident in the second half
Born in 1990, Gundogan is 32 years old and can be called a veteran, and his defensive performance this season has not been very good.
Steal + interception data, similar to fouls and passes. In particular, the efficiency of the upper tackle is low, and there are too many passes, so the coach can only put his position forward as much as possible.
Once Gundogan returns to the back and is penetrated head-on, the pressure on the local defense is great.
This time, Gundogan should have leaned on the strong side of the defense earlier, so as not to give B Fei an easy chance to go straight through. Helplessly, Gundogan's defensive quality is on the low side, especially in the second half.
This game may have been to reward Gundogan for scoring twice, so Guardiola did not replace him early. In the second half, Gundogan was very low on the defensive end.
This time, it was because he was slow to move and did not have the ability to solve problems with his feet, so he watched B Fei send a straight plug to Ghanajo, and almost allowed Manchester United to equalize.
The problem with using Gundogan is that when the opponent launches a strong attack with the overall front pressure, he is prone to defensive problems (Barca want to buy Gundogan, it is indeed a football aesthetic knot).
Because Gundogan and De Bruyne are not very invested in the defensive end, Manchester United can easily hit the 30-meter area with the front pressure of the formation, so Manchester City was a bit embarrassed for a while.
This time Rashford received a pass from B Fei and fired a quality long-range shot that created a big threat. It was only because Manchester City gave the opponent more room to push in the back row.
If it weren't for United's inefficient shooting, it's really hard to say whether Manchester City could have won the final title.
03. To Arsenal or Barca? Gundogan is also likely to stay at Manchester City
a. Going to Arsenal? He can upgrade Xhaka to this position
In the Premier League, Arsenal are one of the teams eager to get Gundogan. Although in the Gunners' plan, they are willing to spend a lot of money to buy Rice and Caicedo in the back position.
However, Rice may not necessarily choose Arsenal, so the team needs to prepare a little more.
Xhaka isn't just a back, he also takes on a lot of forward attacks and pull-in attacks. In this regard, Rice and Caicedo may not be able to connect seamlessly, but the visa-free Gundogan will be more suitable for Arsenal (need to be replaced in time).
b. To Barça or to stay in Manchester City? It's really hard to say
Gundogan also has an option to go to Barca, where the red and blue are willing to offer him a three-year contract with an annual salary of 12 million.
Although Gundogan's defensive problems will further exacerbate Barca's offensive and defensive imbalance. But his attacking talent is still very much in line with the football aesthetic of the red and blue team.
Manchester City have negotiated personal terms with Chelsea midfielder Kovasic, but this does not mean that Gundogan has no place.
If the Blue Moon Legion is willing to give a contract with a longer term, it does not rule out the possibility that he will stay in the team. Even if he is no longer an absolute workhorse, I believe Gundogan will enjoy his current tactical positioning in the team.
Conclusion:
Facing Villa in the final round of the Premier League last season, it was Gundogan's appearance that brought the team around and won the title. A year later, in the FA Cup final, it was he who scored twice to bring the title.
I don't know if he will have a surprise in the next Champions League final. After all, many years ago, Gundogan had the experience of scoring goals on the highest stage in Europe. Whatever the final outcome, whether he chooses to renew his contract or not, Gundogan will be a hero in the hearts of Manchester City fans.