Pep Guardiola credited Ilkay Gundogan’s ability to bounce back from a poor performance after the midfielder netted his for the first time returning to the club.
The Premier League champions travelled to Slovakia to take on Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League as they looked to continue their unbeaten start to the campaign in all competitions.
City summarily swept their opponents aside on the night thanks to goals from Gundogan, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and James McAtee.
Speaking following the game Guardiola hailed his captain’s mindset but made a frank admission about his performance in their 1-1 draw with Newcastle.
‘We know he can do it,’ he told TNT Sports.Â
Pep Guardiola heaped praise on Ilkay Gundogan’s mentality after bouncing back from a sub-par performance against Newcastle
The midfielder gave City the lead as the secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava
But Guardiola claimed his showing against Newcastle on Saturday was ‘one of the worst’ he had seen from Gundogan
‘Strong mentality. The game in Newcastle was not really good, maybe one of the worst I have ever seen with him in the last eight or nine years but this happens. This is why he has to play.
‘His position, holding midfielder, he is so intelligent, he played a fantastic game today.’
With his side still reeling from the news that Rodri will miss the rest of the season through injury, City looked far from their all-conquering best at St James’ Park on Saturday.
Gundogan started the game in attacking midfield but repeatedly and uncharacteristically proved wasteful on the ball before being hooked and replaced with Phil Foden just after the hour mark.
However, deployed in a deeper role against the Slovakian champions on Tuesday the German midfielder appeared closer to his best and produced an assured performance from midfield.
Meanwhile academy graduate McAtee celebrated his first senior goal for the club after replacing Haaland in the second half and Guardiola insisted the 21-year-old will have a role to play as his side look to compete for trophies on four fronts.
The 33-year-old struggled at St James’ Park and was replaced by Phil Foden in the 1-1 draw
But he appeared vastly improved in the Champions League clash, netting for the first time since returning to City this summer
‘All of us are so happy for him, he’s adorable and all the guys love him,’ he added.Â
‘There are a lot of games, Everybody will make a contribution. He moved really well in small spaces, he make a fantastic goal, have another chance.
‘For him it will be a good boost. We want to make him feel like ‘you are part of that group, you are able to play’. Hopefully today can help him in that.’
Guardiola added that he was adamant that his team continued to press forward after taking a comfortable lead in case goal difference proves to be a deciding factor in the competition’s revamped league stage.
He continued: ‘We had to do a job. We did it. This group of players is fantastic, we play a good game, a lot of chances so the first three points of the competition.
‘We said we need one more goal, 3-0 was almost over because they defend with more courage to play but after 2-0 and chances we had, we were patient and we attacked really well.Â
Guardiola also heaped praise on academy graduate James McAtee who netted his first senior goal for the club in Slovakia
‘Sometimes we have to attack more quicker but yeah good result.’
‘When I’m thinking about that [goal difference] maybe I’m conservative, maybe winning games will be enough. We have three tough, tough games away. Today, first victory, a little bit higher in the table than we were.’