Ilkay Gundogan says UEFA Champions League win has "given a confidence boost" to Chelsea star

Modified Jun 12, 2021 07:27 GMT

German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has revealed that there seems to be a new level of confidence within teammate Kai Havertz, following Chelsea's Champions League triumph against Manchester City.

In an interview with the German football federation, Gundogan said that despite having a slow start to life at Chelsea, the Champions League win has given Kai Havertz a massive confidence boost going into Euro 2020. The Manchester City man also admitted that Chelsea deserved to win the showpiece match in Porto. Gundogan said:

"The Champions League win gives players a boost, gives them confidence. Especially Kai, who scored the winner, has been given a massive confidence boost, which we can use to help us as a team. I’m happy for them (Chelsea), they deserved it.”

The Blues narrowly edged out Man City in the Champions League final in May, thanks to a goal from Kai Havertz in the first half.

Ilkay Gundogan saw three of his German teammates win the Champions League final with Chelsea, including Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Antonio Rudiger.

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Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan believes the Chelsea trio in the Germany camp seem to be more confident after the Champions League triumph. “Especially Kai Havertz, who scored the winner, has been given a massive [confidence] boost, which we can use to help us as a team. pic.twitter.com/BoLiPEtTKE
— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) June 11, 2021

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Gundogan disappointed after Champions League final defeat

Despite being favorites to win the Champions League, Ilkay Gundogan saw his Manchester City side lose to Chelsea. The 30-year-old mentioned how a defeat at the final hurdle hurts, especially when you've been waiting to win the competition for many years. Gundogan said:

"It’s not easy to stomach a defeat like the Champions League final. We worked all year to get there – eight years for me. I lost the final again, and I’m extremely gutted about that."

However, Gundogan remains positive and wants to focus on the upcoming Euro 2020. He added:

“But life goes on, that’s the beauty of competitive sport. I had a few days off, which I needed. I made good use of them. Now I’m focusing on the tasks at hand and I can look forward to the tournament, despite defeat in the final.”

Die Mannschaft will have their work cut out at Euro 2020 as they have been drawn into the Group of Death along with France, Portugal and Hungary.