With Manchester City's quadruple hopes hanging in the balance at Goodison Park on Saturday evening, the Germany international steadied himself to calmly head into an empty net and pave the way for his side to progress to the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Everton.
Gundogan has arguably been City's player of the season, so
it came as no surprise to see him once again make the difference just when Pep
Guardiola needed him most.
Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti had done his best to keep the
midfielder quiet, with twin destroyers Andre Gomes and Allan tracking
Gundogan's every move to try to stifle his impact.
But the 30-year-old is having his best-ever season in front
of goal and there would be no denying him his 16th goal of such an influential
campaign.
In a tight clash, the chance he had been awaiting finally
came in the 84th minute, after Aymeric Laporte's shot had bounced back off the
bar. There was never any doubt that Gundogan would be in the right place at the
right time to finish off the rebound.
Substitute Kevin De Bruyne added a second in the 90th minute
but this was a game that was in the balance for a long, long time. Indeed, it
was a reminder of how fine the margins are as City look to pull off a hist
Ancelotti certainly didn't make it easy for Guardiola's side
as he showed all of his experience to suffocate City for long spells.
Despite the visitors having 77 per cent possession in the
first half, Everton managed to protect their third-choice keeper Joao Virginia
from serious threat and his only save during the opening 45 minutes was a
comfortable catch from Raheem Sterling's 20-yard strike.
goal.com
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