FC Barcelona have some great players within their ranks for the ongoing 2023/24 season. Possessing several different types of players to provide depth into specific positions, Xavi has a much more complete squad at his disposal this season than he did in the previous one.
Moreover, one of the new summer arrivals has been performing brilliantly and deserves recognition. 32-year-old former Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan has been exceptional for Barcelona under Xavi Hernandez so far this season.
Providing great numbers
As highlighted by Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Gundogan has already managed to provide four assists this season within his first ten games for the Catalan club. This tally is divided equally across La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, as he has thus far provided two assists in each competition.
The assists in depth
His first assist came against Cadiz on matchday two of La Liga EA Sports. A match that looked quite rocky for Barcelona given that they were unable to penetrate the goal of a resilient Ledesma guarding it, Gundogan’s brilliantly weighted lob to Pedri ended up breaking the deadlock.
Next came his corner against Osasuna, which allowed Jules Kounde to take advantage of the placement. Scoring with his head, the goal would end up being crucial in helping Barcelona win the game with a scoreline of 2-1.
In the Champions League, Gundogan’s first assist came against Royal Antwerp. His well-placed pass to Joao Felix allowed the Portuguese star to take Barcelona ahead in the 11th minute with ease courtesy of the quality of the assist itself.
And most recently, he provided the assist for the only goal of the game against FC Porto. Well-placed and perfectly weighted, his pass would eventually allow Ferran Torres to score past Porto in the first half and end up winning the game for La Blaugrana.
Numbers in Man City
With his 4 assists, Gundogan looks set to break his own past best records while playing for Manchester City. During both the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, he managed to provide 6 and 7 assists respectively. However, his highest tally of assists came in the 2018/2019 season, during which he provided 8 assists.
In the current progression, if Gundogan manages to continue providing assists as he has, he could easily overtake those previous numbers. The German international is among the key players within Xavi’s setup and it does not look like it is going to change any time soon.
