As Manchester City defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 in their latest friendly, Shaun Wright-Phillips compared Mateo Kovacic to Ilkay Gundogan.
Speaking on City’s official YouTube channel, the club legend was quizzed about his thoughts on the Croatian international.
Before Manchester City even went toe-to-toe against Bayern Munich, Shaun Wright-Phillips likened Mateo Kovacic to Ilkay Gundogan.
Shaun Wright-Phillips compares Mateo Kovacic to Ilkay Gundogan as Manchester City beat Bayern Munich
Branded as an ‘exceptional player’ by Pep Guardiola, the 29-year-old has slotted in relatively comfortable in sky blue during pre-season.
The three-time Champions League winner was tasked with operating as a holding midfielder against Thomas Tuchel and Co. and it’s safe to say that he looked right at home in a deeper role.
As Mateo Kovacic shone for Manchester City against Bayern Munich, Shaun Wright-Phillips compared him to Ilkay Gundogan.
“Like I said in the previous show, he’s got a lot of similarities to Gundo. But I think he does it his own way. And I think he’s settled in really, really quickly.”
Before Manchester City kicked off against Bayern, Shaun Wright-Phillips further expanded on why Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan are similar players, saying, “And I think, these games, him starting off in the team regularly is only helping that and hopefully, he’ll get up to speed quickly, but because he plays so similar to Gundo and he seems like he can take in the information that Pep [Guardiola] can give him so hopefully, he hits the scene and just blows up, because that’s what I’m hoping for.”
Mateo Kovacic certainly shares similarities with the Barcelona maestro
Much like former Manchester City midfielder, despite not being a natural No.6, Mateo Kovacic looked the part against Bayern Munich and in this respect, the comparison from Shaun Wright-Phillips checks out.
It also makes sense from the perspective of the pair being at their very best as No.8’s, who are renowned to be sublime technically.
But unlike Gundogan, the ex-Chelsea technician is not as adept in the final third, which was a huge part of what made the latter a special footballer.
