Manuel Pellegrini is convinced Raheem Sterling will have his best season in front of goal after telling the Manchester City striker that he must improve his finishing.
Sterling scored a hat-trick and Wilfried Bony twice as City thumped Bournemouth 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon. The England forward managed 11 goals in all competitions for Liverpool last season and has five so far for City since of his £44 million move in the summer.
“I think it was important for Raheem to score three goals,” Pellegrini said. “He must improve his finishing. He did that today, he’s young and will continue to get better. I don’t think he’s a striker like Kun [Sergio Agüero] or Bony but this year I am sure he will score more goals than he did at Liverpool.”
Sterling said the performance was his personal high point for his new club. “That was my best game so far – I had chances and I finished them so I’m happy,” he said. “The movement upfront and the passing from midfield has been really good in the last few games and we’ve been playing some good, free-flowing stuff.
“We have to put this game to one side now and look towards Sevilla [in the Champions League] on Wednesday and Man United next weekend but our focus for now is purely on Wednesday.”
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It was also a good afternoon for Bony, who has endured a difficult time at City since joining from Swansea City for £28 million in January. He has struggled with injuries and for form and was struck down by malaria in pre-season but he is hopeful his two goals will prove a catalyst as he fills the void left by Agüero, who is out for at least a month with a hamstring tear.
“I feel I have turned the corner,” Bony said. “I have had a lot of injuries and been sick. I got malaria from Africa when I was coming back but I am OK now and feel that is all away from me now.
“I just want to do my job, do my best in training and score when get my chance in the match. Every striker is happy when he scores, especially when the team wins.
“It is good for me [having Agüero there]. It pushes me, makes me work very hard, and gets me to push the coach to play with two strikers sometimes. You cannot have 11 players play all 38 games. You have seen the manager play two strikers in some games, so it is possible now I have my fitness.
“This was a good chance for me and it started to work today, so let’s hope it carries on like this.
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“It has been four years that I didn’t have a pre-season – sometimes it happens like this, that you have the worst time and get a lot of injuries, then other times you are just happy but I am OK now.”