Pep Guardiola says he "never had a doubt" about Raheem Sterling after his goal began the rout of Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final. The Manchester City boss left the England ace on the bench in the 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace and afterwards said he had considered putting on Ilkay Gundogan and Gabriel Jesus - without mentioning Sterling.
That cast further doubt on his future, after Guardiola said earlier in the season that there would be big changes this summer. Sterling has said he would seek to leave if he was not a regular, with his contract getting close to its final year.
But Sterling opened the scoring at St Mary's and his direct style caused Southampton plenty of problems as the Blues hit the straps and eased away with three second-half goals in a 4-1 win. Guardiola said there is no issue with Sterling: "I didn’t have any doubt about him.
