Ilkay Gundogan praises Manchester City saviour Sergio Aguero after his brace recovered Burnley FA Cup scare

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Ilkay Gundogan hailed the brilliance of Manchester City team-mate Sergio Aguero after the pair combined to turn their FA Cup tie against Burnley around.

Aguero struck twice in the space of two minutes to spark a comeback that saw City recover from a goal down to move into the fourth round with a 4-1 win at the Etihad Stadium - Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva also got on the scoresheet.

Both Aguero goals were set up by Gundogan, the first with a quickly-taken free-kick after 56 minutes and the second from an exquisite back-heel soon after the subsequent restart.

Sergio Aguero salvaged Manchester City from an FA Cup third-round scare on Saturday

Burnley complained when the equaliser was allowed to stand, as they were not organised for the set-piece when Gundogan fed Aguero's run across the box, but referee Graham Scott saw nothing untoward.

Gundogan said: 'It was a free-kick and the referee didn't tell me to wait.

'I had some eye contact with Sergio. I know that he likes to use these kind of situations to play quick. As soon as we had the contact I was sure he was going to make the run, so I just had to play the pass.

'Fortunately it was allowed and I think it was also correct. We just reacted quicker than our opponents.'

The Argentine striker scored twice inside two minutes to turn the tie on its head

Aguero started the move that led to his second after the Argentinian found Gundogan in the box and then continued his run. Gundogan read his intentions and back-heeled into his path for a clinical finish.

'The timing was just perfect,' said midfielder Gundogan. 'Sergio passed the ball to me and I just had to save it. I was waiting for the run and Sergio was just at the right time in the right spot. I was quite sure this ball was going through.

'Luckily both actions were a goal and 2-1 was very important at that point. After that, we had all our confidence back, started to keep the ball and play very well.

Ilkay Gundogan (centre) provided the assists for both of his City team-mates goals

'We scored two more goals and we are very happy with the result.'

City's performance ensured talk of a bid for a potential quadruple continues to grow. Their response in the second half after falling behind to Ashley Barnes' thunderous 25th-minute strike was emphatic. 

Gundogan added: 'We conceded a goal that was maybe not necessary but at half-time the manager told us he was not unhappy with the first half.

'We just needed to continue and be more clinical in front of the goal. Then he was sure we were going to go through this round and, as most of the time, he was right.'

Gundogan praised Aguero for his part in both goals, claiming their timing was 'perfect'

Despite the result, Burnley boss Sean Dyche felt his side's performance was another strong indicator of their progress this season.

He said: 'We're at the end of our squad at the moment with injuries but, with the mentality today, you'd never have smelt that.

'Fifty-six minutes into the game, you'd have been thinking this is an organised team that knows how to play. That's really pleasing.

'You're not going to have to come to places like this every week. We've still got some big superpowers to play but I think our mentality is growing, not just the quality of our performances.'