Manchester : Former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard has criticised Raheem Sterling ater the winger wasted a couple of gilt-edged chances for Manchester City during their Champions League defeat to Juventus at home.
Sterling wasted a chance as early as the second minute and was off target in the second half as well when he only had Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to beat.
The 20-year-old’s prolifigacy came back to haunt the English Premier League (EPL) giants in front of their home crowd as Mario Mandzukic and Alvaro Morata scored for Juventus late in the second half to seal a 2-1 victory for the visitors.
Gerrard, who has played alongside Sterling for Liverpool, was clearly disappointed in the youngster’s performance, stating that the England forward needs to show that he is worth the 49million pounds that City spent on his transfer in the summer.
“For me, I think Raheem will be very disappointed he hasn’t scored a goal tonight. He’s still a young boy. He’s gone there with a big price tag and there’s big pressure on him. At this level you’ve got to deliver. It is something he needs to brush up on very quickly,” Gerrard told BT Sport after the game.
Gerrard also felt that the Jamaica-born Sterling needs to brush up on his finishing skills.
“I think at this point in his career he is trying to add goals to his game. It is something that he does need to sharpen up on,” the 35-year-old former Liverpool icon said.
“It’s on his left foot [the second-half chance] but you need to show a bit more power and a bit more accuracy there. It’s a great save but he needs to do better,” he added.
