After Premier League leaders Manchester City failed to defeat relegation-threatened Leeds by a significant margin on Saturday, Ilkay Gundogan acknowledged some of the blame.
The 2-1 victory for City at the Etihad Stadium kept them in contention for the title, but the German midfielder's late missed penalty left room for a Leeds comeback.
Erling Haaland, a frequent penalty taker and top scorer, chose not to convert from the spot in order to give club captain Gundogan a chance at a first-career hat-trick, but things almost went horribly wrong.
Leeds scored through Rodrigo after Gundogan's attempt in the 84th minute hit the post.
A game that City had totally controlled up until that point abruptly came to a frenetic conclusion, but the hosts managed to hold on.
The incident left manager Pep Guardiola with little to no impression, as Gundogan put up his hands.
Gundogan stated, "It was a good performance. Sadly, we were unable to incorporate that performance into the outcome.
This game seemed like it should have been won by at least three goals.
We created a lot of chances because we had a lot of possession. The fact that we were unable to score a third goal is a drawback.Both the first and second halves of the game, of course, could have been the end of the match. "Conceding quite an easy goal made the last five to ten minutes a little bit uneasy for us, which should not have happened. We had plenty of chances - myself included, sadly - to score a third one. It is yet another experience that we consider.
Aside from that event, Gundogan was superb. He gave his team the lead in the 19th and 27th minutes by sweeping in passes from Riyad Mahrez on the edge of the box.
City had numerous opportunities to extend their lead, but Haaland came close on numerous occasions, including twice himself striking the woodwork.
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