Analysing Raheem Sterling’s Incredible Performance Against West Ham United
Raheem Sterling was the star of the show on Sunday as he helped champions Manchester City to a resounding 4-1 win over West Ham at the London stadium. The emphatic victory at the London stadium saw Pep Guardiola’s City reach 100 Premier League goals for the season.
On an evening when everything went perfectly for City, Sterling should be kicking himself by watching the highlights of the chances he had against West Ham. Despite claiming a hat-trick of assists, Sterling was wasteful in front of goal as he missed two clear-cut one-on-one chances.
Having earlier teed up Leroy Sane for the opener, Sterling set up Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho after the break and also played a crucial part in City’s fourth goal on Sunday.
The 23-year-old set up Sane for a heavily-deflected goal before assisting City’s second. For the third goal, Sterling fed Jesus, who controlled and scored. The Cityzens’ fourth goal was also aided by Sterling as the winger presented a gift for the Brazilian to feast on.
However, Sterling must have left the London stadium frustrated after failing to find the back of the net. He did everything on the day other than getting on the scoresheet to add to his 18-goal tally this season.
The winger was relentless in his approach by providing three assists but was not ruthless when it came to taking his chances. Also, there were several half-chances that, on another day, Sterling could have slotted into the net without minimum fuss.
The England international worked tirelessly on and off the ball as it has been the scheme all season under Guardiola. Sterling looked fresh, unpredictable and dangerous with the ball that saw West Ham defenders cripple with fear all day long. Not only did Sterling create chances, he also picked up important positions and got into the right places at the right time.
Not to forget, Sterling was brought down in the box by Aaron Cresswell but the referee failed to award a spot-kick. It was a blatant penalty that saw Guardiola livid on the touchline and had Neil Swarbrick awarded the spot-kick, Sterling could have redeemed himself by scoring it.
In all fairness, Sterling’s top-class display against the struggling Hammers provided a lot of optimism for the England fans ahead of the World Cup in Russia.
There is plenty for the English fans to be excited about Sterling’s latest performance and although the 23-year-old needs to be clinical in front of goal, manager Gareth Southgate will expect a lot more from the Manchester City ace in the glitz and glamour competition this summer.
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