Ilkay Gundogan Disagrees With Public Opinion of Man City's First-Half Performance Against Brighton

Manchester City climbed to second in the Premier League with a 4-1 win against Brighton on the South Coast on Saturday night.

Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez were all on the scoresheet in what turned out to be an emphatic performance against a notably tricky opposition. 

Speaking to Manchester City's in-house media team after the game, the German midfielder explained that he was pleased to pick up an important three points on the road.

"We can be quite happy with the performance. We came here to play against a tough side, maybe most people wouldn't really appreciate it, but I think Brighton are a top side," the 31 year-old said.

Gundogan continued, "They like to play with the ball. They dominated us for 20, 25 minutes in the second-half where we struggled. We had to fight hard. We had to defend. But I think all in one, it was a really good performance.

"We scored four goals, amazing away support, and we're totally pleased with the performance."

The Blues raced into a three-goal lead with just 30 minutes on the clock at the Amex Stadium this weekend, displaying an array of counter-attacking brilliance - an element of the side's performances that has often gone missing in recent games. 

Ilkay Gundogan was asked whether he believes that the first-half at Brighton was the best 45 minutes of Manchester City's season for far, and his response may have surprised a few.

"I don't know to be honest, sometimes the feeling that you have from the outside is a bit different than the feeling that you might have from the inside, from the pitch. I didn't really feel that it was the best 45 minutes of the season to be honest."

Gundogan - who turned 31 on Sunday - continued, "We had a few mistakes which were probably easy to avoid, but of course going into half-time with a three-goal lead is very good - and in most cases, the game after that in the second-half is dead.

"Today was a bit different, and we knew that going into half-time, the manager also told us, and we felt it in the second-half."

"We know that we had a really good first-half, but we also knew that we can do better in the second-half. Now, we are going back to work."

The Blues will now turn attention to midweek, with their defence of the Carabao Cup continuing away to West Ham United in the fourth round of the competition.