Raheem Sterling has revealed that he received the penalty kick in Manchester City’s 4-0 win over Watford in place of attacker Kevin De Bruyne because he was eager to increase his goal count and score another hat-trick.
The city rebounded in the winning way after its disappointing defeat in the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal on Saturday, when they once again beat the Hornets and lowered their hopes of survival in the Premier League.
Sterling was the star of the show when he opened the scoring with an emphatic finish in the upper corner and had the opportunity to double the lead from the penalty spot nine minutes later.
Ben Foster made an outstanding save to keep the shot off, but the ball kindly fell to Sterling, who was able to save his blushes by converting the rebound.
While it was inconsequential as the goal was finally scored, with Phil Foden and Aymeric Laporte adding a third and a fourth in the second half, it was yet another penalty penalty for the Blues, who were unable to score six times since detecting this season.
Goal penalties became a real problem for City earlier in the campaign as Sterling again, Sergio Agüero, Ilkay Gundogan and Gabriel Jesus failed twice and it was not until De Bruyne took responsibility that they became a target. practically guaranteed again, with the Belgian scoring his four.
However, Sterling revealed that he wanted to take it on Vicarage Road as he seeks to reach the 20-goal mark.
“I saw it was up for grabs, I scored the first and I knew I was 18, I knew if I got the second and I was on the field 90, I knew I had another shot at a hat-trick.” explained to Sky Sports after the game.
“So I wanted to try to get a hat-trick today, but it didn’t happen, but I am very happy with both goals.”
“A winger to score 20 in the Premier League is a great achievement, we have one more game left and I hope I can do it then.”
City will conclude their domestic season when they welcome Norwich City, already relegated to Etihad on Sunday, and then have nearly two weeks to prepare for the return of the Champions League and Real Madrid.
Although City have a 2-1 lead in the last 16 draw, Sterling warned it will be a difficult game.
“The more games we have before, we only have one now, we have to make the most of these games because Madrid will be a massive game,” he said when asked if the victory over Watford was good preparation for the La Liga champions. .
“They finished the season brilliantly, they won the league and we know it will be a strong test because they are a strong team.”
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