Manchester City: Raheem Sterling returning to his early season form, claims Pep Guardiola

The former Liverpool winger started impressively this term and, after scoring against Arsenal last weekend, his manager believes he can recapture that form

Guardiola is confident that Sterling can regain his sparkling early season form (Getty)

When Pep Guardiola arrived in Manchester, one of the most intriguing questions was how he would impact on the club’s few English players.

While John Stones has struggled to demonstrate the obvious talent that earned a £50m move from Everton, Raheem Sterling has made better progress at the Etihad Stadium, although his manager said he still needed more experience.

The Christmas fixtures that began with his scoring the winner in the 2-1 win against Arsenal – the club that first tried to sign him from Liverpool – ends on New Year’s Eve with his return to Anfield.

After the win over Arsenal that ended a period of stuttering results, Sterling said Guardiola had tried to make him more direct. He had also been encouraged to watch videos of world-class players to improve his play. The goal against Arsenal was Sterling’s first since the frantic 3-3 draw with Celtic at Parkhead in September.

“In the last game, he came back to the level he started the season,” said Guardiola. “In the last month and a half he was a little bit down but you forget how young he is. Raheem needs a lot more experience to become more stable.”

His former manager at Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers, said Sterling “drifted” after forcing his way out of Anfield in a £49m deal. Assessing his progress in his first season under Manuel Pellegrini, Rodgers said: “He lost what he was - which was a one-versus-one guy who is dynamic and can take people on.”

“We need this guy for one against one,” said Guardiola. “Of course, he is not our top scorer but he has to feel how beautiful it is to score goals, not just for the team but for him as well. He scored a beautiful goal against Arsenal and in the first month and a half he gave us a lot. He was our key, key player up front.

“Sometimes, I say to him: ‘You need to play wide, wide, wide. You need to stay there and make the action one against one.’ But when he does that it is difficult for him to get into the box. But he did do that in the first match, against Sunderland.

“Then, he played like a winger but he arrived on the penalty spot. The strikers and the wingers have to move how they feel – especially in the last metres.”