Pep Guardiola has suggested that Kevin De Bruyne will continue to be Manchester City's penalty taker despite not dusting himself off to take the spotkick that he won against Brighton.
City were struggling to see out the win against a gutsy Brighton side but were given a golden opportunity when Kevin De Bruyne was fouled in the box late on.
De Bruyne had taken up responsibility for penalties last season after a series of misses from his teammates, with the Belgian memorably firing home at the Bernabeu in the Champions League last-16 tie.
Despite a costly miss in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool in November, he was back on duties in the home win over Fulham weeks later and was on the pitch against Brighton.
However, it was late substitute Sterling that put the ball on the spot before blazing over to miss the chance to kill the contest before the final whistle.
"Kevin is the taker but he made an incredible effort - not just the action to press the keeper and create the penalty but for the rest of the actions before," said Guardiola.
"He was struggling in the last 15 minutes because he was exhausted. I like the guys who take the responsibility for the penalty. It was Raz and next time it will be better."
