Raheem Sterling endured a disappointing return to former club Liverpool with Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
The England forward has been in sensational form this season with 14 goals in 20 Premier League appearances, but was hauled off after 71 minutes as the Premier League leaders were beaten 4-3 to suffer their first defeat of the season.
Here Press Association Sport assesses the 23-year-old’s impact at Anfield.
ATTACKING THREAT
Sterling has always possessed the attributes to cause defenders problems, but under Pep Guardiola this season he has turned occasional flashes of brilliance into consistent end product. However, deployed wide on the right he found little joy against Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson, who matched Sterling for pace and more than held his own in the pair’s one-on-one duels.
MOVEMENT
With Robertson nullifying any threat out wide, it was little surprise that Sterling’s best moment came when he drifted infield. With the score still 1-1, Sterling played a central role in a swift counter-attack at the start of the second-half, only to under-hit his pass to Sergio Aguero and allow Liverpool’s defence to get back and block the Argentine’s effort on goal.
DEFENDING
Robertson’s ability to maraud forward makes him a dangerous opponent, and to Sterling’s credit he tracked back well to prevent the Scotland full-back posing a threat at the other end of the field. Sterling was beaten in the air by Robertson at the start of the move which led to Roberto Firmino scoring Liverpool’s second, although other Manchester City players were far more culpable for the ball ending up in the back of the net.
DISCIPLINE
As Liverpool began to run riot in the second half Sterling appeared to lose his cool. He squared up to Robertson after the former Hull player was penalised for a hefty challenge, and was booked six minutes later for a clumsy, late tackle on Georginio Wijnaldum. Guardiola replaced Sterling with Bernardo Silva two minutes later.
IMPACT
Having been booed from the start by the home crowd, Sterling was a willing runner and put in plenty of effort during a pulsating encounter. However, he received little change from Robertson and failed to make an impact in the final third. It was no surprise to see him substituted after he began to lose his discipline midway through the second-half.
Sterling began to lose his discipline in the second period.
