Pep Guardiola Praises Raheem Sterling After Influential Display in Man City's 2-1 Newcastle Win
Pep Guardiola has described himself as satisfied following Manchester City's 2-1 victory over Newcastle that kept his side within touching distance of joint Premier League leaders Liverpool and Chelsea.
Goals from Raheem Sterling and Kyle Walker either side of a DeAndre Yedlin finish were enough to see the Magpies off, but City were unconvincing for large parts of the game.
The influential Benjamin Mendy failed to impact the game as he had in previous weeks, and Sergio Aguero couldn't find the back of the net for the second week running.
Alex Livesey/GettyImages
Despite the less than fluid performance, Guardiola was pleased with the result. Speaking to reporters as quoted by Manchester City's official website, Guardiola singled out Sterling for praise.
He said: “Yeah, he made a fantastic goal and fought a lot.
“Especially in second half, he was clever, he moves the way we need to be stable. The wingers make stability in the team and he did it well.”
“The game, the goal we conceded we defended very bad but in general we didn’t concede many chances.
Clive Mason/GettyImages
“We conceded few set-pieces, free kicks. Our performance was good, especially in second half, where we didn’t let them run and created chances.
“We have ten points from 12. We played Arsenal away, so it’s a good result and we are delighted for the guys.”
Guardiola also addressed the exclusion of Leroy Sane from City's match day squad, insisting the German would have a part to play this season.
He added: "Leroy Sane was dropped from the squad. Last season he was such an important player for us and we hope this season he will be a really important player for us as well."
Manchester City now have a two week break before they return to action at the Etihad, Guardiola will be expecting a drastic improvement in performance for the visit of Fulham.
