Gündogan hits out at Barcelona
After losing 2-1 to Real Madrid at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday, Ilkay Gündogan suggested Barcelona needed to display more emotion and anger if they were to compete in the major games.
Gündogan gave Barcelona the lead in the first half, but a brace from Jude Bellingham after the intermission, including the 92nd-minute winner, helped Madrid return to the top of LaLiga, level on points with Girona and four ahead of the Blaugrana.
Gündogan stated that the way Barcelona reacted to their defeat illustrated the difficulties they will encounter if they wish to fight for the title this season.
“I have to be honest, not as much as I wish because I don’t want to say something wrong, but I was in the dressing room and of course people are disappointed,” the Germany midfielder told LaLiga TV.
“But especially after such a big game and a result that is so unnecessary, I wish for more frustration, more anger and more disappointment. This is a little bit the problem.
“There has to be more emotion, especially when you lose and when you know you can perform better, do better in certain situations and you just don’t react.
“It transfers to the pitch at the end of the day. We need to make a huge step in that because otherwise Real Madrid or even Girona are going to run away. I didn’t come here to lose this type of game or to let a gap create.”
Gündogan, 33, joined Barcelona as a free agent in the summer after winning the Premier League title with Manchester City.
Barça coach Xavi Hernández wanted to bring him in to contribute innovation in the final third, but also for his experience, and he recognizes that he has a significant role to play in helping the squad rebound from its loss to Real Madrid.
“There is also a responsibility for myself, as a more experienced player, to not allow the squad to just let things happen,” he added. “No, we need resistance.”
Barça’s defeat in El Clásico was their first in all competitions this season, but draws against Getafe, Mallorca, and Granada put them in third place in the table, behind Madrid and Girona.
Barça had taken a merited lead into the halftime thanks to Gündogan’s goal.However, after Fermn López and Iigo Martnez struck the crossbar for the hosts, Bellingham’s 12th and 13th goals of the season helped Los Blancos turn things around.
Xavi thought the outcome was an unfair reflection on the game.
“The summary of the game is very simple,” he said in his postmatch news conference. “We had 60 really good minutes and scored one goal. Madrid had 20 good minutes and scored twice.
“But that’s football, if you don’t score the second… We need five or six [chances] to score a goal. With three, they score two. That’s football and that’s Madrid.”
