Manchester City were beaten in the Champions League final.
But it was a still a superb season for the club, with another Premier League title and League Cup in the bag.
For some, the disappointment of Saturday will be difficult to shake.
But it is what it is, and the experience will no doubt stand the players in good stead for the future.
Lots of players stood out for City throughout 2020/21.
Much has been said about Ruben Dias and the impact he has made at the back.
There have also been fine showings from the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Phil Foden and Joao Cancelo.
But there is one man who seemingly still isn’t quite getting his due credit.
The nominees for Player of the Year were announced today, and there is, inexplicably, no nod for Ilkay Gundogan.
This was a player that came in absolutely clutch for City during an extremely hectic period around Christmas time when De Bruyne was out injured.
He took up a more advanced midfield role, making those all-important late runs into the box a la Frank Lampard, and scoring vital goals to build and keep the momentum going for the team.
He finished the campaign with 17 goals across all competitions and five assists.
That is a superb return from a player that has largely played a holding role in his time at the Etihad Stadium.
What’s more, this amazing form came after the player actually missed the start of the campaign due to testing positive for Covid-19.
Gundogan said in an interview that the virus floored him (Goal), so he’s done remarkably well to be so influential.
He absolutely deserves to at least be nominated.
If whoever decided the nominees didn’t want too many City representatives, then surely he should have been in there over De Bruyne.
The Belgian was still excellent when he played, but he had his injury problems and just simply wasn’t as crucial as Gundogan.
At least most City fans know how sensational Gundogan was and hopefully the player knows just how appreciated he is at the Etihad.
