There is more to come from Raheem – Guardiola
PEP GUARDIOLA warned rivals there is more to come from Raheem Sterling after the winger inspired Manchester City to a rout of Southampton which sent them back to the top of the Premier League.
Sterling scored a brace – taking him to 50 City goals – and added two assists to cap off a week in which he verbally agreed a new five-year deal with the reigning champions.
“He is in incredible form,” Guardiola said. “He is sharp, fast, clever, fighting, ambitious and is decisive.
“He can play on both sides and in the middle and receive the ball behind the lines and always commit the centre-back with a lot of aggression.
Improve
“It was an incredible performance with and without the ball but still with the young guys like him and Leroy (Sane) I would like to feel they can still improve.”
On this form it was easy to see why City have worked so tirelessly to tie down Sterling to new terms, but Guardiola insists it is the club and not their celebrated coach that should be the main attraction the former Liverpool star, where the Catalan insists his ambitions should be limitless.
“I would like him to be happy to play for Man City not for me. We will not always play together. He is more mature now than he was when we first met at the club. He believes more in himself. Hopefully he can be more ambitious and think he can improve.”
“I have the feeling he is now enjoying scoring goals and making assists and being important in winning games,” Guardiola added. “He is becoming a winning player and he is just 23 years old. We cannot forget that.
“He is stable and is focused on what he has to do to become a better player.
“If he has his mind to become a better player, and think it is not enough what I am like as a football player, he can reach whatever he wants.”