RAham Sterling made a dart behind Vincent Kompany to receive an angled pass from Luis Suarez. His first touch, with the outside of his right foot, took him out of the line of the right-hand post, about 12 yards from the goal, with Kompany and Joe Hart between him and the net. He turned inside out, opening an angle to curl a left-footed finish between Hart and Pablo Zabaleta in the bottom corner. Hart shuffled and Kompany held off, only for Sterling to back down and roll the ball through a wide gap in the right side of the goal.
he was in the opener Liverpool’s 3-2 win over Manchester City in April 2014, but what made it memorable was not just that it was a key goal in the title race, but that Sterling accepted a spot where none existed. It was this goal, more than anything else, that raised Sterling’s hopes of going into the World Cup.
It was something unusual in an England player: who else has the ability to do something so audacious, with so much coolness in technique, so much confidence? In harem-scarum, in the hustle and bustle of the English game, Sterling seemed unique – and in a player who was quick and also a good dribbler.
Eight years later, that moment seems delusional. The temptation is to doubt the initial interpretations. Did Sterling actually send Hart and Co. the wrong way with the fake shot? Or did they fail to anticipate checking him back on his preferred right foot (only 30 of his 109 Premier League goals have come from his left)? From behind, perhaps it’s not a clever change of direction, but a strange pull to his strong side which proved to be deceptive as it was not the kind of thing that top-class forwards usually do when shooting a clear The opportunity opened up.
That coolness of sight that Stirling had since made little sense; That’s not some English Bergkamp. But what is that? As the reaction of many Chelsea fans to his possible signing has made clear, for a player who has been a regular appearance in four title-winning sides, he was England’s most consistent attacking player since he was part of the Euro. Had reached the final, he generates a lot of doubts.
Sterling’s stats for full passes and dribbles are all excellent for shot building and requisite goals as well as assists, while he scores highly for tackles and interceptions as a forward in a team that has habitually dominated the ball. Is. But there are times, especially when he’s a little out of form, when that goal against City seems to have calmed him down.
There are several compilations on YouTube in memory of Sterling, one of them spanning more than seven minutes. Watching it is a disturbing experience: at first it seems brutal – often he is under pressure or the cross is far ahead of him – but gradually becomes an indisputable picture. Sterling misses a lot of chances but then mostly forwards. The effort he made on an open goal against Lyon in the Champions League in 2020 stands out, as does a flat-footed one in the World Cup semi-final against Croatia.
Yet his shooting accuracy is 41%. It is poorer than roughly comparable players such as Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, but not by much. And he, at the age of 27, is already the joint-26th scorer in Premier League history (level with Ryan Giggs, who had 36% shooting accuracy).
There are of course myriad questions: Sterling plays for a team – Manchester City – He scores a lot of goals, and many of his shots are essentially tap-ins that reach the cut-back at the end of a classic City move. The 41% statistic doesn’t tell you how many times he made an attempt directly on the keeper. But despite all that, Sterling is clearly a very good all-round modern forward.
But is this enough? For Manchester City, it may not be. Sterling should be in its prime now. It’s understandable that, with one year left on his contract, he’s eager to explore his options for what should be his biggest deal. But given the city’s resources, it is hard to believe that this is an issue of meeting their demands; If they really wanted it, they could afford it.
Even after the departure of Gabriel Jesus, there is no shortage of attacking options in the city. Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez is signed Mahrez, Foden and Jack Grealish to go with, with Cole Palmer now 20 and likely more of a factor next season.
Sterling played more minutes in the forward line last season than any other City player, but he may be the one who deserves to be expendable. They may also be feeling like Sterling has reached his roof. He has spent six years playing under Pep Guardiola: where, say, Grealish is still learning the system, Sterling probably has little room for improvement.
Every little doubt cast on Sterling’s ability must be dispelled by the acknowledgment that these are mere critiques within the incredibly rare world city he resides in, but there may be a sense of what he has to offer. That’s not what the city needs.
Sterling essentially guarantees 10–20 league goals in a season as well as five–10 assists: most teams will benefit from this. But City have scored a lot of goals anyway: they need someone who can help them clutch moments at the biggest European games. Imagine clearing Sterling in the last minute at the Bernabeu: would you back him to score? Guardiola’s answer probably lay in the fact that Sterling did not start in any leg of last season’s semi-final against Real Madrid.
That doesn’t mean that Sterling can’t find success at Chelsea, Tottenham or Real Madrid or any of the clubs associated with him. He has a consistently good relationship with Harry Kane for England. But that is to say, it is understandable that Citi should decide against offering an exorbitant new deal. The unique magic of April 2014 is felt long ago.