MY ACCOUNT
Ilkay Gundogan believes Manchester City’s shock Carabao Cup exit will serve as a wake-up call for Pep Guardiola’s squad.
First-half strikes from Sekou Mara and Moussa Djenepo were enough for Southampton to book their place in the semi-finals last night.
Considering their struggles in the Premier League, the Saints were not expected to halt City’s march towards Wembley — despite having home advantage on their side.
But Gundogan and Co were stunned at St Mary’s as Nathan Jones’ men secured a showdown with Newcastle in the last four.
And the experienced German midfielder, 32, expects the league champions to come roaring back when they head to Old Trafford to face arch-rivals Manchester United on Saturday.
He said: “There’s no room for any mistakes, or for any poor performances.
“Hopefully, if there is something good we can take out of this game, it was something like a wake-up call at the right time.
“Even though it is sad and disappointing to be out of this cup, hopefully, at the end, in a few weeks we can at least look back and take something good out of this game.”
Like Gundogan, Guardiola had no complaints about the result. The City boss said: “The best team won. They were better. We had a bad night and we didn’t play good.
“When they are better you have to congratulate them, accept it and improve.
“We didn’t react good to the bad start. We didn’t perform well. To win games, and I’m not talking titles, you have to deserve it.
“If I win something I want to deserve it. Southampton deserve to be in the semi-finals of this competition.”
