After being nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year earlier in the week, Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling decided to justify the nod — and make a case towards claiming the award — with a brace in the Reds 3-2 win over Norwich City.
Goals on either side of the half and an assist for Luis Suarez’s 30th goal of the season saw the youngster put in another impressive performance — something that doesn’t surprise Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers one bit. “I think he is arguably the best young player in European football at the moment” said the Northern Irishman. “He’s a talent.”
After butting heads during the early days of Rodgers reign, the 19-was given a golden opportunity to impress and he’s grasped it with both hands. “I’ve been really pleased with his maturity. He puts an awful lot of time into his work” continued the Reds boss. “We’ve tried to play him in different positions to improve his football intelligence.”
His brace yesterday bumped his tally up to nine goals for the season, and with three matches left, he could very well improve on that. “His first goal was fantastic; that strike and technique to beat a ‘keeper of John Ruddy’s quality” enthused Rodgers. “For the second goal, his set-up was perfect to intercept, breaks away at speed, cuts inside and he gets a bit of luck with the deflection, but every coach or manager will tell you: if you hit the target, you’ve got a chance of scoring.”
