At only 19 years of age Raheem Sterling has proven why he is one of the best teenagers of the modern day. He has appeared in the World Cup and becoming one of England’s star players often outplaying English compatriot Wayne Rooney.
Raheem Sterling’s performances for both England and Liverpool are receiving several plaudits due to his ability to open up defences with his shear pace. Already notching up 2 goals in 3 matches for Liverpool he has become a focal part of the Liverpool squad and at times being the best player on the pitch. Sterling started the season off well scoring the first of two Liverpool goals in a 2-1 win over Southampton, he was able to run onto a left-footed Henderson ball and slot it past Fraser Forster into the bottom right corner. Throughout the match he was menacing and was at several instances getting into scoring opportunities. For his performance he received Man of the Match, he and Sturridge were praised by Rodgers saying “Those boys did that last year so I don’t think they’re stepping up, I think they’re continuing at the level they were at last season,”.
After the departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona Liverpool were in need of striking power. After a solid 9 goals last season from Sterling, he looks to better that and hopefully score over 10-15 goals. His performance against Manchester City was overshadowed due to the poor performances from Liverpool as a team which made it extremely hard for the team to work together. Sterling at some stages played quite well but not enough to create any chances to break through the defence of City. Out of the Liverpool teams performance he was one of the players to show any glimpse of good football.
After the 3-1 loss, Liverpool fought back from this tough circumstance with a 3-0 win over Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Raheem Sterling again was on the score sheet in the eighth minute slotting home another Jordan Henderson pass. He has been noted to be at the right place at the right time. With the arrival of Mario Balotelli it allows Sterling to play in the number 10 role sitting behind Sturridge and Balotelli which means that Sterling doesn’t get lost sitting on the wing. Though Sterling played outstanding throughout the match there were often times where he could have played an easier ball or chose a different option, nonetheless Sterling is still growing and improving and noted to be the fastest developing English player. He was awarded the Man of the Match for the second time this season which is a confidence booster for the young player.
One main thing that Sterling should work on is shooting with the left foot, it was evident in the Tottenham game where he was dribbling through the box and came one on one with Hugo Lloris. He didn’t know what to do, where he should of shot with his left foot. It ended up being an easy save for Lloris with a soft effort from Sterling.
With continued progression throughout the season with added experience being in the Champions League i’m sure Raheem Sterling will become a focal part of the Liverpool setup and hopefully continues to stay on with the club.
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