Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Sterling: I still like Liverpool
RAHEEM STERLING may have left Liverpool under a cloud, but he still admires the club as they battle it out for the title.
The England winger left Anfield for Manchester City in 2015 and his career has continued to blossom at the Etihad under Pep Guardiola.
Sterling faced criticism for the way he engineered his £49million move away from Merseyside, but with City now chasing Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table, he praised not only the impact of Jurgen Klopp, but one of his replacements on the field – Mo Salah.
Sterling (left) said: “I’m not surprised [by how well Salah has done].
“He’s gone to Liverpool and it’s clicked for him. Every player has a moment when they are good, very good and then it clicks. He’s been exceptional.
“But it’s about how you maintain it – and he’s maintained that perfectly and that’s a credit to him.”
He also praised Klopp’s team, who are now seven points ahead of City in the table after the champions suffered their second successive defeat yesterday.
City and Liverpool face off in a showdown at the Etihad next Thursday evening and Sterling says he is relishing the battle with their title rivals.
“They’re a great team, great players, not just the forwards, but solid at the back,” he added.
“It’s a credit to them what they have done this season and that makes it even better for the league that we have got these strong competitors, otherwise it would be boring.”