The Germany international scored two and set up the other as we registered an 11th straight victory in the Premier League.
He was City’s first signing of the Pep Guardiola era back in 2016 and has been pivotal to the success the Club has enjoyed since.
Now 32, our club captain has won the Premier League and League Cup four times each as well as one FA Cup and two Community Shields.
The No.8 will forever be remembered at the Etihad for his heroics on the final day of the 2021/22 campaign, when he his two second half goals helped overturn a two-goal deficit at home against Aston Villa to seal the Premier League title.
While that moment immediately stands out in the minds of all City’s fans, the midfielder’s consistency, deep understanding of the game and leadership through example on and off the pitch is what sees him held in such high regard by Guardiola and his coaching staff.
“I will never forget him. For me personally and for the team, he is an incredible football player, always grounded,” said the boss in October 2022.
“He likes to be second position and always you can rely on him 100%. He gave us the Premier League. He can play holding midfielder and attacking midfielder. He is so smart, can talk about the world.
“That is why he was voted by his mates as captain. We are incredibly happy with the decision we made to have him.
“In the first year he had an ACL injury but from the second season when we started winning the titles, he was there. It’s a joy to have these human beings with you.”
A player that can control the tempo of a match with his immaculate first touch and an eye for a pass, Gundogan has played in a number of different roles during his seven seasons at the Etihad.
While often utilised as one of the midfielders ahead of Fernandinho or Rodrigo at the base of that group, he has been just as adept in more defensive and more advanced roles when called upon.
After struggling with injury in his maiden season, his first major honours with the Club came in 2018/18 when we became the first and so far only Premier League side to reach 100 points in a single campaign. That season also saw us lift the Carabao Cup with a 3-0 defeat of Arsenal at Wembley.
In 2018/19, with Fernandinho unavailable for much of the run-in, Gundogan was required to play the holding role in midfield and did so expertly as we won our last 14 games of the season to lift a second Premier League title in two seasons.
He also took our first penalty in a shootout victory over Chelsea to win another Carabao Cup and started in our 6-0 FA Cup final rout of Watford.
2019/20 saw another League Cup success before he took on a more attacking role in 2020/21 and reaped the rewards with a career-high 17 goals across all competitions as we regained the Premier League, retained the Carabao Cup and reached the Champions League final.
He returned to his more familiar role at the heart of midfield for 2021/22 but again proved his knack for an important goal with that title-clinching brace on the final day.
Now Club captain following the departure of Fernandinho last season, Gundogan has proved a fine leader as the Blues chase another memorable season with three trophies still available to us.
He has also shown an interest in developing the next generation and his life beyond his playing career, taking his coaching badges and leading on training sessions for our Under-16s on occasion.
Congratulations to Ilkay on reaching an incredible landmark!
