The city put six Saints

The city put six Saints

Posted on: Tuesday, November 06, 2018

MANHESTER: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insisted that there was still room for improvement by Raheem Sterling after the amazing victory with a 6-1 win over Southampton that returned his team to the Premier League.

The defending champions remain on track for the best record of 106 points last season after another emphatic show that leaves a difference with goals +1111 just 11 games in the new campaign.

The sterling was the selection of aggressive talent during Sunday's Etihad match, scoring two goals and giving three tips as City ran to a 3-0 lead in 18 minutes.

"He is a top player but he is still so young he is considered the best in the world," said Guardiola when asked to rank Sterling among today's top game players.

"He's in incredible form, he's sharp, fast, smart, racing, resolute, can play both sides and play in the middle and take the ball between the lines and bind the central banks with a lot of aggression.

His performance means that Sterling has been directly involved in 40 goals – marking 24 times and making 16 assists – since the beginning of last season, while Sunday was a timely individual view, as the 23-year-old England forward this week agreed a new five-year contract with the club, worth about 300,000 euros per week.

"It was an incredible performance, but with the new guys like himself and Leroy (Sane) I would feel that it could be improved," added Guardiola.

"Still, he loses simple balls, like the Tottenham Hotspur, when he did a terrific help in the first few minutes but lost a lot of balls."

Wesley Hoedt turned Sane's 6th minute to his own goal before Sterling put his first help on Sergio Aguero to claim the 150th Premier League goal of his career – putting Argentina in eighth place with Michael Owen – goal time rating.

The Sterling crossed David Silva to Volleyball in third place and after Edison's victory in Danny Ings allowed Southampton to score from the penalty spot, Sterling scored the first unbeatable threat as Aguero Gamel held a loose ball in the game.

Aguero put Sterling on the fifth, wide angle, in the 66th minute, and Sane completed the course in the seconds that died from 18 meters after Sterling's third help.

It was a devastating show by Sterling, who only managed to win seven goals in 2016/17, the Guardiola first season.

"The difference is on his head," said Guardiola. "The first season, he was afraid, looked, who is the guy who will pass the ball?

"He did not look where the guard was, we talked about that and we said that we're trying to score, it does not matter if you're missing, being aggressive.

"I have the feeling that now she enjoys scoring goals and makes aids, he is a winner, he is stable and focuses on what he has to do to become a better player."

Always the perfectionist, Guardiola was still seeing enough to demand improvements.

"Of course, the way we played the first 20 minutes, yes," said the former manager of Barcelona and Bayern Munich when asked if the title opponents of the city will be afraid of the last victory.

"But my team sent signals today that in some places, some actions, we are not stable enough – AFP