The England man has been in great form during the 100% winning start in the Premier League, and he thrived in the Champions League last term so the return of Europe’s elite club competition tonight will have Blues fan looking forward to more from the 21-year-old.
The Guardian’s Jamie Jackson goes large on Sterling, saying: “Raheem Sterling embodies the flying start Manchester City have made under Pep Guardiola and his form is the best response to last season’s criticism, which he correctly calls ‘a bit unfair’.
“Examine the statistics, though, and the 11 goals he scored for City – plus one for England – were hardly a shabby return for a player who was still only 20 and whose best displays came on the elevated stage of the Champions League.
“This campaign has featured assists, two goals, the winning of two penalties – against Sunderland and Steaua Bucharest – and the constant questioning of defenders.”
There has been a new look-and-feel to the Blues thus far this term, and defender John Stones – who already feels like he has been part of the furniture for ages – says City “will never change” their exciting approach even if it brings the odd risk with it.
“Pep Guardiola has transformed City’s style since arriving in the summer and spent the transfer window identifying players that are comfortable with the ball,” says ESPN’s Jonathan Smith.
“England defender Stones was among them -- making a £47.5 million move from Everton while Guardiola spent a further £13.5m on Barcelona keeper Claudio Bravo to replace England international Joe Hart.
“And they have quickly taken to the Catalan coach’s demands to keep the ball and control possession.”
And City’s slick style could reap dividends in Europe, according to former England striker Gary Lineker, who probably still can’t quite believe that his old club Leicester City will be lining up in the competition this week.
“Guardiola - the fact that he has managed to change the manner of the way they play so quickly shows what a master teacher he clearly is,” the player-turned-presenter tells BT Sport.
“I suspect City will be the club that would have the best chance of success this season, and they could conceivably go all the way.
“It’s his first season and it’s going to the difficult as he found at Bayern Munich. But I think they’ll have a better chance than they’ve had in recent years.”
Tonight’s opponents have even weighed in, with Borussia Monchengladbach coach Andre Schubert speaking about City in glowing terms.
“Monchengladbach coach Andre Schubert described his counterpart at City as ‘the best there is’ and said their opponents had a chance of winning titles both at home and in Europe,” say BBC Sport.
“’I understand they might be trying to soften expectations but they have incredible strength,’ he said. ‘Manchester City has a great chance to win one or two trophies.’”
