Incredible Ilkay Gundogan Passing Stat in Chelsea Game Shows Pep Guardiola's Huge Impact at Man City

Ilkay Gundogan's passing stats against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon shows just how influential the German is to Manchester City's squad - and pays testament to the massive impact Pep Guardiola has had in changing the football played by the Premier League leaders.

The Carabao Cup winners made light work of Antonio Conte's Chelsea at the weekend, securing a victory in which the 1-0 scoreline made the match seem a much closer affair than it actually was.

And there is one statistic that backs up the previous claim - showing just how much control the Citizens had over the reigning Premier League champions. 

Central midfielder Ilkay Gundogan came away from the Etihad on Sunday night having completed 167 passes against the Blues - five more than the entire Stoke squad managed against Southampton the day before.

Almost barbaric. 

Gundogan's first season in Manchester was clouded by a knee injury that kept him out for almost the entire campaign last year, so much so that his game time this year has made him seem like a brand new signing.

This total control over the match against the Blues in comparison to Stoke's passing stats on Saturday could show one of two things: Either Ilkay Gundogan is going to be used by Pep Guardiola in a similar fashion to that of Xavi or Philipp Lahm - or there is just a huge gulf in class between the top six Premier League sides and the rest of the league.

We'll leave you to decide; perhaps it could be both? Either way, Gundogan's passing was impressive to say the least, and whether you like him or not, Pep Guardiola is pretty good at his job.