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West Brom 1 Man City 2: Ilkay Gundogan to undergo scan after knee injury scare on first start for nine months
Ilkay Gundogan will undergo a scan tomorrow after a knee injury scare in his first start for Manchester City almost nine months after he suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. The midfielder beat the turf in frustration after Claudio Yacob launched into him, with his manager Pep Guardiola berating the fourth official, Lee Mason.
“I suffer for Gundogan,” Guardiola said after this bone-jarring Carabao Cup third round victory over West Bromwich Albion. “At that moment you think the worst, the wrong situation. You cannot imagine eight months fighting every day alone and then to get injured. At that moment it’s so tough. Fortunately it is not serious.”
It does, indeed, not appear to be serious although Gundogan was helped off following the second-half incident and it was decided he could not continue. He reported pain in his knee but it is his left knee, not the right in which he suffered the rupture. Still, given the German international’s injury history there will be concern. “I spoke with him, he has a little pain in his knee,” Guardiola said. “Tomorrow the doctor will clarify.”
It did eventually look serious for City in this tie and Albion should have forced extra-time as Hal Robson-Kanu swivelled unmarked in injury-time to strike a shot against the post. That seemed astonishingly improbable given City’s utter dominance in the first-half when they scored after precisely two minutes and 24 seconds and appeared set to continue their goals spree which has seen them claim 15 goals in their previous three games.
That goal – and City’s second – was scored by Leroy Sane with the German in impressive form, as was Raheem Sterling, although Guardiola’s side showed last season’s vulnerability at the back when West Brom roused themselves. Sane’s first goal was also the culmination of 54 City passes from kick-off with, incredibly, the first touch by a West Brom player coming as goalkeeper Ben Foster pushed out Gundogan’s shot. Sane fired the rebound into the net.
More goals should have followed but a much-changed City, captained by Yaya Toure who was making his first appearance of the season and his 300th for the club, wasted chances or were denied by Foster, who was in superb form, before they were clearly unsettled by Gundogan’s injury and also perceived injustices from referee Mike Jones.
“It’s the physically of the Premier League,” Guardiola said when asked about some of West Brom’s challenges. “Sometimes it is difficult for me to understand that a team that has 60-70 per cent of the ball has more yellow cards.” A lot those cards – for Sane, for Sterling – were born of frustration.
Admirably Albion did find a way. James Morrison should have scored and then Yacob did as he was allowed, unmarked, to meet a corner and volley home from four yards out.
City were rocking and Robson-Kanu side-footed wide before Sane set off on the counter-attack, exchanged passes with Bernardo Silva, and then cut inside to curl a brilliant left-foot shot around Foster. Even then substitute Salomon Rondon headed wastefully wide before Robson-Kanu’s bad miss.
Afterwards Albion manager Tony Pulis lamented how lax his side were in the first-half – “so poor in possession” – before rallying. “I’m really disappointed that we didn’t win the game,” he argued. “But the quality they have got is exceptional. The lad up-front (Gabriel) Jesus… Jesus!”
And with that he walked off. City face Wolverhampton Wanderers, at home, in the next round. It is the first time Guardiola has received a home draw. “I want to send him a barrel of good red wine,” he said to whoever (it was Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas) pulled their ball out first this time.