Yorky staff writer giving Raz the thumbs down
If Raheem Sterling had a point to prove against Burnley, he struggled to do itRaheem Sterling, Manchester CityBy Nancy Frostick Oct 18, 2021 16
This was Raheem Sterling’s big audition.
After speaking out this week to suggest that he would be open to a move away from Manchester City if it meant he would get more regular game time, his start against Burnley was his chance to show why he deserves exactly that at his current club.
“If there was an opportunity to go somewhere else I would be open to this at this point in time,” Sterling said at an event with the Financial Times. “Football is the most important thing to me, challenges that I’ve set myself from a young age, and dreams as well, to be honest with you, to play abroad.
“As an English player all I know is the Premier League and I have always thought one day I would love to play abroad and come up against that challenge,” he said as he also joked, “I actually should be learning a few different languages. I quite like the French accent and Spanish.”
It has been a frustrating season so far for the 26-year-old, which perhaps goes some way to explain the rhetoric and timing of his comments which are not dissimilar to those that he made in the months leading up to his £49 million move to the Etihad Stadium from Liverpool six years ago.
Back then, he cited a desire to “be the best that I can be” as “the kid that wants to play football and do the best for the team” after much speculation about his future.
So far in 2021-22, he has made 11 appearances for Pep Guardiola in all competitions but Saturday’s 2-0 win over Burnley was just his third Premier League start of the season. To start, especially after Guardiola revealed that he was unaware of Sterling’s feelings, was a golden opportunity for Sterling to make a case for more minutes but in the end his performance was lacking in a hard-earned win.
It should have been exactly the type of game that fuels him, as he revealed recently that he likes “a bit of criticism, something negative (…) to spin to make a point” ahead of big matches. While Burnley, defeated by an aggregate scoreline of 32-1 in their last nine matches against City, probably does not come close to the classification of “big game” for the team, there was added scrutiny on Sterling as an individual to claim his chance to shine.
And in the first half, as he was used once again as a false nine, he appeared lost or a victim to the system as City pushed and probed for an opener and the Burnley defence stood strong. Bernardo Silva, the standout performer in a below-par performance from a number of key players, opened the scoring when he slammed home from close range after Nick Pope got down to save a rasping drive from Phil Foden.
Sterling’s involvement in the opening 45 minutes was limited (as illustrated by his touch map below) compared to the second half, when he was more involved as he moved to the left wing with Foden occupying a more central role.
Sterling’s touch map for the first half v Burnley
Sterling’s touch map in the second half v Burnley
City’s second goal came from Sterling’s involvement — after he was dispossessed making a mazy run inside, he tracked back to regain possession on the halfway line which allowed Rodri to set Riyad Mahrez off on the attack that would lead to Kevin De Bruyne’s goal. The Belgian has now scored in successive games for the first time since July 2020, while the City defence stayed resolute despite good chances for Maxwel Cornet and Ashley Barnes on the way to a sixth clean sheet in eight league matches.
Keeping all of his players happy remains one of Guardiola’s great challenges, as he himself admitted. “Raheem is our player, has been and hopefully will be an important player for us so I don’t know if he wants to play more game time like Riyad — when he doesn’t play he complains and Joao when he doesn’t play he complains. Some players complain and want to play all the time but I cannot assure it. I have spoken many times about that, I cannot assure how many minutes every player is going to play. Always they have to speak on the grass, on the pitch.”
“The amount of good players we have in this squad is crazy,” Silva said after the game, expressing sympathy for Sterling. “It’s tough when you’re not playing the minutes you want to. It’s happened with me and most of the players here — you have to fight for your place.”
And judging by Sterling’s final act of a frustrating individual performance where little seemed to fall in his favour — a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge to secure a throw-in right in front of an applauding Guardiola on 90 minutes — the fight has not gone out of him yet. While this opportunity to make a case for more regular involvement passed him by, until he does enough to cement his place the long-term issue is likely to linger with those comments out in the open.
“They have to be satisfied to be here, they have to be delighted to be in this club,” Guardiola said. “If they are not then they are free to make the decision best for the players, for the families, for all the people who love them. This is the most important thing, they have to be happy.”
Nancy Frostick is a staff writer for The Athletic who covers Sheffield Wednesday and the EFL. She previously reported on the Owls for The Star in Sheffield and is a keen follower of women's football. Follow Nancy on Twitter @nancyfrostick.