Champions League
Gündogan’s open Bayern bill
Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan addresses a press conference. photo
© Matthias Balk/dpa
Ilkay Gündogan once lost a Champions League final against Bayern Munich with Borussia Dortmund. His hunger for the “Henkelpott” is still unsatisfied.
Ilkay Gündogan still has a score to settle in Munich. In 2013, the international soccer player lost the German Champions League final in London with Borussia Dortmund against FC Bayern 2-1 in the last minute. The midfielder scored the 1-1 draw from the penalty spot at Wembley.
In the evening (9 p.m. / DAZN) he now wants to reach the semi-finals after the 3-0 win in the first leg with Manchester City in the Allianz Arena and thus come one step closer to his eternal dream of the premier class title. Because the most important club title is still missing in his career.
“The further you get in this competition, the hungrier you get to win it,” said the 32-year-old in the Munich Arena. In 2021 he lost the final with Man City against Chelsea, who were then coached by the current Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel. It was his great wish to get back into the final and finally hold the trophy in his hands, Gündogan said before the duel with FC Bayern.
Gündogan’s contract with City expires
The midfielder has now played for City for seven years. His contract expires at the end of the season. Talks were going on in the background, he reported in Munich. “Nothing has been decided, not by the club, not by me,” he said about the current status.
But his focus is on the present. He expects Bayern to be in the best possible condition. The Munich cabin Zoff between Sadio Mané and Leroy Sané after the first leg does not have to be to the detriment of Bayern, said Gündogan: “Sometimes such an incident can also produce something positive.” You know Mané very well at Mancnester City. “He hurt us with Liverpool,” Gündogan recalled of previous clashes with the Senegalese in English club competitions.