Gündoğan: "Rodri reads the game before anyone else, he's the anchor of any team"

İlkay Gündoğan will face his former club when Galatasaray host FC Barcelona in the Champions League, and the ex-Barcelona midfielder has issued a warning about the threat Hansi Flick's side will pose — while reserving special praise for Manchester City's Rodri.

"Rodri reads the game before anyone else, he's the anchor of any team," Gündoğan told Mundo Deportivo.

Turning his attention to the upcoming European clash, the German added: "We have a lot of individual quality up front. The energy we can generate at home is our greatest strength."

Gündoğan's comments set the scene for what promises to be a hostile atmosphere in Istanbul as Barcelona prepare for their first away fixture of this season's Champions League campaign.

Conte full of praise for Barça's youth academy

Elsewhere, Antonio Conte has confessed his admiration for the work done with young players at the Catalan club. Speaking to The Athletic, the Italian coach admitted that he would like to visit La Masia, Barcelona's famed academy, and voiced his amazement at the club's production line of talent.