Ilkay Gundogan was one of the biggest signings for Barcelona in the summer. The midfielder arrived after a sensational tenure with Manchester City to win it all at Spain.
However, the first big game for Gündogan was bittersweet as he scored his first goal in El Clasico against Real Madrid, but suffered a crushing 2-1 loss. Xavi’s team seemed to have everything under control after 60 minutes before Jude Bellingham emerged with two goals.
After the game, Ilkay Gundogan spoke about the game and, when a reporter asked him if this defeat would help the club going forward, the answer was very surprising.
“I have to be honest. Not as much as I wish because I don’t wanna say something wrong to be honest, but, I was in the dressing room and, of course, people are disappointed. But, especially after such a game, such a big game and such a result, I wish there was more frustration and anger. More disappointment.”
Ilkay Gundogan explodes against his teammates at Barcelona
Ilkay Gundogan tried to be very careful with his words as he didn’t want to produce any hard feelings. However, the message was clear. He didn’t expect to see those reactions in a big club like Barcelona.
“This is a little bit of a problem. I don’t know. There has to be more emotions especially when you lose, when you know you can perform better. When you can do better in single and certain situations and you just don’t react. We need to make a huge step that on that otherwise Real Madrid or even Girona is going to run away.”
The German player assumed his amount of blame, but also sent a huge warning to the locker room considering he just won it all at Manchester City in the 2022-2023 season.
“I didn’t come here to lose this type of games or to let the gap create. There’s also a responsibility for myself. From a more experienced player to not allow the squad just let things happen. No. We need resistance.”
Xavi believes Barcelona deserved more in El Clasico
Meanwhile, Barcelona’s coach, Xavi Hernandez, said that his team deserved a lot more against Real Madrid in El Clasico. However, he admitted this is the way to have success in the near future.
“The loss is unfair. I’m frustrated and angry. We scored a goal in the first 60 minutes of control, and they scored two in the last twenty. Up until the 60th minute, we were doing well, but it could be that due to fatigue, we didn’t execute the high pressure effectively. Real Madrid are a strong team with its own strengths.”