Manuel Pellegrini believes Raheem Sterling will show Chelsea why he was worth £49m when Manchester City play the champions on Sunday. Chelsea were interested in buying Sterling this summer but the forward signed for City and now Pellegrini’s team face Jose Mourinho’s side at the Etihad stadium knowing victory would open up a five-point gap after two matches.
The Chilean said: “He will be a very dangerous player and maybe we were criticised for the amount we paid for him but I am sure he will demonstrate during the year, especially against the big teams, why he was valued so much.”
At Liverpool two seasons ago Sterling enjoyed his best campaign when operating alongside Luis Suárez. At City he has Sergio Agüero as a team-mate, a player in the same class as Suárez, something Pellegrini believes will enhance Sterling’s game.
“It is always important for young players to play with good players,” said the manager. “You can improve. The same way he did with Luis Suárez or Gerrard for Liverpool, here he will play with Sergio Agüero, David Silva, Yaya Touré, players that will make him improve in a lot of ways. Young players always learn from important players. It is very important for them to play with him.”
Sterling has registered 18 Premier League goals in his career. Can he improve on this return? “ I am sure he will score more goals than he did before,” said Pellegrini, who is not setting him a specific target. “It is important for him to improve every year. Last year he scored 11 in all competitions. I am sure this season he will improve.”
The manager understands how telling it could be to defeat Chelsea and open up a five-point lead so early in the campaign. “It is very important for our team to beat a team like Chelsea, to beat the champions of last season. It always gives you more trust for what you are doing. Also it gives you the chance to make a gap from the beginning. We are not thinking about the title but it is important to make a gap against the big teams.
“We are not thinking about the title in the second game but we are thinking about trying to win our points at home, especially as we are playing against the champions and one of the teams that has a lot of chances to win the title, the same as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, all the big teams.”
Agüero, who was a second-half substitute in the 3-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion, may now start following a post-Copa América break. “Sergio worked the whole week without any problems. Maybe he is not 100% fit because it is better for the player to do a long pre-season,” said the manager. “But now we are already in the Premier League and Sergio doesn’t have any problems. Yaya is OK also. It was just a precaution the other day [he was replaced at West Brom].”
Pellegrini, who does not always see eye to eye with Mourinho, said he will shake his hand. “As always. I said the first date I arrived here, I have my differences with him but I always shake hands with him.”
They did not shake hands after their first meeting in England in October 2013, when Chelsea snatched a late winner at Stamford Bridge and Mourinho celebrated extravagantly.
The game will be the first at the Etihad stadium since the opening of a new 6,000-seat tier on the South Stand and the addition of 1,500 extra pitchside seats, making the capacity 55,097.
