W hen Raheem Sterling returns to Manchester City on Sunday afternoon and sees John Stones floating into midfield, their creative players servicing Erling Haaland and everyone in light blue going into overdrive when possession is lost, it will bring home the difference between a team that obey their manager’s every command and one who have spent an entire season in a state of self-imposed flux.
Sterling is all too aware of the standards required to reach and stay at the top. Everybody in the City dressing room had to understand that Pep Guardiola’s vision was sacrosanct.
Doing so allowed City to flourish and individuals to take their game to new heights. By the time Sterling left last summer, he had 131 goals and 74 assists in all competitions and won four league titles at the club.
Those numbers underlined Sterling’s efficiency. He is not a flashy player but he has a way of getting the job done. He is, as Frank Lampard said after seeing Sterling score twice in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest last weekend, a killer in the final third.