02.10.2025 16:21
Galatasaray's football player İlkay Gündoğan evaluated the team's performance and Leroy Sane's situation after the victory against Liverpool. Regarding Sane, Gündoğan said, "I don't want to defend Leroy because he knows what he needs to do better. We talk a lot; he knows, understands, and is working on it. You can see that."
Galatasaray's experienced midfielder İlkay Gündoğan made statements following the historic victory against Liverpool in the 2nd week of the UEFA Champions League. Speaking to Sky Sports, the seasoned player praised the team's performance.
"THERE'S NO OTHER WAY"
Gündoğan said, "It was an incredible atmosphere. We displayed a very, very good team performance. It was the team performance we needed to beat Liverpool. I congratulate everyone who played an incredibly good game that evening and made sacrifices for the team. We are very happy with the 3 points. This performance was proof that we can be successful in this tournament. In my experience, there is no other way. We wanted to learn from our mistakes in Frankfurt. We did this very well; we played very disciplined. If we can repeat this performance in the next few matches, we will also earn our points. This match is now a milestone. We have set a standard, and we want to build on that," he stated.
"I DON'T WANT TO DEFEND HIM"
Speaking about Leroy Sane being on the bench and not getting any playing time in the Liverpool match, the 34-year-old player said, "Leroy knows that he can still develop and is aware of the potential he has. He is working on that. He also wants to find a certain rhythm. Leroy did not play against Liverpool, but he will be very, very important for us in the future. If you look at our team performance in the league, even though we have earned points, there is still a lot of room for improvement. I don't want to defend Leroy because he knows what he needs to do better. We talk a lot; he knows, understands, and is working on it. You can see that. He is a player who sacrifices himself for the team. How he works and how he runs is often overlooked; this is not something you would expect from such a physically imposing player. For me, it is more important to see the sacrifices he makes than to see him score goals or provide assists," he said.