STER... CRAZY IF RAHEEM IS ALLOWED TO GO

Peach of a finish reminds Pep of his world-class talent

WHEN referee Stuart Attwell was asked to go to the pitchside monitor to review his penalty decision, Raheem Sterling knew the writing was on the wall.

He was appropriately annoyed … for a moment or two.

And then he responded with a peach of a half-volley finish (above right) that set Manchester City on a course to second place in the Premier League table.

Whenever Sterling gets knocked down, he gets back up again. And demotion from Pep Guardiola’s A-list of players this season has been some knock.

But there will be no sulking, no toy-throwing, just hard work.

This was not the England star’s most accomplished display but he twinned a glorious goal with 90 minutes of non-stop, high-speed labour.

And it was a reminder, in only his fourth Premier League start of the season, that his contract situation needs sorting out fairly smartly.

It expires at the end of next season and while competition for places at the Etihad is almost laughably fierce, it is hard to believe Guardiola would be happy to lose a player who has so often been a talisman for him.

Even when his form appears sketchy, Sterling makes things happen, as he did when going over the leg of Michael Keane to prompt the decision that Attwell reversed (right, centre).

And as he did when darting behind the Everton defence to run on to a sublime pass from Joao Cancelo and flash his shot beyond Jordan Pickford just before half-time.

The crispness of Sterling’s finish was matched by Rodri’s hit early in the second half, only the midfielder’s strike was decidedly more violent.

Twenty-odd yards out, the ball fell invitingly for him and he could not have timed it better.

It was a fitting decoration on Rodri’s contribution, which was immense, dominating a congested midfield in a contest in which Everton’s ambition was, predictably, limited.

A defeat at the Etihad hardly cranks up any sort of pressure on a manager, but Rafa Benitez has now won just one of his last eight Premier League games – and that was a home victory over Norwich.

He faces a tricky trip to Brentford next Sunday before welcoming Liverpool to Goodison Park.

If there was any sort of honeymoon start for Benitez, it has been over for a while.

His team showed a little more adventure after Rodri’s rocket but City appeared to have one eye on Paris Saint-Germain’s impending Champions League visit on Wednesday.

But the home side did perk up again late on and after a couple of ricochets fell in their favour, Bernardo Silva (right, bottom) casually stroked in the third goal their performance deserved.

It was not a spectacular display but the win was bloodless.

When teams show such limited attacking intentions, clean sheets are always on the cards. But City have now conceded only six goals in their 12 Premier League games.

This was the eighth time in their last 11 Premier League games their defence has not been breached.

They will be given a far sterner test by PSG this week but this was the ideal pipeopener for that challenge.

And it was an ideal occasion for Sterling to remind Guardiola he is still a world-class talent – a world-class talent they would be better off keeping.