Roy Keane was left 'feeling his hip' after watching Ilkay Gundogan score an outrageous goal for Manchester City in their comfortable 3-0 victory at Everton.
Pep Guardiola's men made the trip to Goodison Park on Sunday knowing that failure to win would give Arsenal the chance to overtake them in the Premier League title race. After a testing start, Gundogan broke the deadlock in the 37th minute with an eye-catching finish.
Backing into Everton defender Nathan Patterson, the City star elegantly controlled Riyad Mahrez 's cross with his right thigh before smartly flicking the ball past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in an acrobatic motion with his back to goal. Two minutes later, team-mate Erling Haaland double City's advantage to give them a 2-0 lead at half-time, when the analysis was dominated by Gundogan's brilliance.
"Brilliant goal, brilliant finish," Manchester United legend Keane declared on Sky Sports, hailing the German, who made it three goals in two Premier League games - at that stage. "He's an outstanding midfielder, his timing is always great. We praise Man City but I'm sure [Everton boss Sean] Dychey will be disappointed.
"His first touch and his second touch, my goodness. Absolutely magnificent. Again, not enough pressure on Mahrez, ball into a dangerous area, the first touch is fantastic but this second one, my goodness, I'm feeling my hip looking at it. What a brilliant goal.
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"What an outstanding finish from a brilliant midfield player. His timing into the box and the way he finishes. [Kevin] De Bruyne gets all the headlines most weeks for Man City but this player I think is absolutely fantastic. Great finish."
On commentary, Andy Hinchcliffe described Gundogan's piece of improvisation as "extraordinary." "He's actually ahead of the ball and realises he can't take it first time," Hinchcliffe noted. "The touch off his thigh to take all of the weight off the cross is outstanding, and then just to flick it home is quite brilliant.
"Jordan Pickford doesn't expect it. It's just individual brilliance from Gundogan, again just breaking from midfield into a dangerous area. That's not by accident, he knows exactly what he's doing, it's a stunning goal. Everton have defended so well but when you're up against this kind of brilliance, what can you do? The touch off his thigh is just sensational then to finish it like that - extraordinary."
Just six minutes after half-time, though, Gundogan scored again by expertly converting a free-kick from just outside the penalty area to beat Pickford once more before he was substituted off on 78 minutes. The Germany international's future is now even more under the microscope, with his deal expiring in June and Guardiola admitting that he can't guarantee Gundogan's signature, despite his wish to see him to stay.
"I said about the contract, the club is involved and knows my opinion," City manager Guardiola affirmed last week after the midfield maestro's double against Leeds. "They are above me, we take the decision together, good and bad. " It's not necessary to score two goals to know exactly how I like this player and enjoying working with him and how I’d like to work with him in the future."
