Raheem Sterling’s Saturday night hat-trick against Norwich City were his first goals of 2022. For a player who has worked hard over the last few seasons to add a scoring string to his impressive bow, it is a bit odd it has taken him about a month-and-a-half to find the back of the net.
That’s not to say he has not been influential in the new year. Far from it. Just last week, he won a penalty that allowed Riyad Mahrez to open the scoring in the victory over Brentford. He was a diligent presence in the most important win over 2022 so far against Chelsea, too, and on 1 January against Arsenal. Just as it was at Carrow Road, he played from start to finish in both victories worth the same number of points as this one here, but carried far more jeopardy. Like Kevin De Bruyne, he could have spent the game on the bench against Norwich and, with all due respect, Manchester City would have still won comfortably.
