Raheem Sterling joins Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero’s exclusive club after becoming just the third player to score at least 100 goals under Pep Guardiola… but he has some way to go to catch the six-time World Player of the Year!
- Raheem Sterling netted his 100th goal under Pep Guardiola against Liverpool
- The Englishman’s century came nearly four-and-a-half years after his first
- Sergio Aguero reached 100 under Guardiola against Brighton in August 2019
- Lionel Messi record is on another level – he scored 211 times under his mentor
- That number was reached in just four seasons – with 73 goals coming in 2011-12
- Manchester City also equalled an English top-flight record with 14 straight wins
Raheem Sterling has joined elite company after becoming just the third player, after Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero, to have scored at least 100 goals under Pep Guardiola.
The 26-year-old reached the milestone in Manchester City‘s emphatic 4-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield after heading home from virtually on the goalline following Alisson‘s second major blunder of the contest.
Sterling’s first under the Spaniard came when he scored the opener in a 3-1 victory over West Ham at the Etihad in August 2016, and since then he has gone on to become one of the most prolific finishers in Europe, having notched up 90 goals for the Premier League giants since the start of the 2017-18 season.
Raheem Sterling had the easiest of finishes to notch up 100 goals during Pep Guardiola’s reign
Sterling’s first goal under Guardiola came during a 3-1 win over West Ham back in August 2016
Sergio Aguero’s century goal under Guardiola came in a 4-0 win over Brighton in August 2019
Aguero joined the 100 club after scoring his first of a double against Brighton in August 2019 and the Argentine has since gone on to bag 20 more despite significant spells on the sidelines.
Naturally, Messi was the first to reach a century of goals under Guardiola and is in a league of his own after he was turned into arguably the most complete player of all time.
The Messi-Guardiola partnership spanned just four years, but saw Barcelona’s highest-ever goalscorer net a jaw-dropping 211 goals, including 73 in Guardiola’s final season at the club in 2011-12.
Lionel Messi’s partnership with Guardiola yielded an astonishing 211 goals in just four seasons
The Argentine reached 100 goals under his mentor against Racing Santander in October 2011
If Sterling wants to emulate Messi’s achievement, he needs to stick around at the Etihad for a while.
On a day when City cemented themselves at the Premier League summit, more individual and team records were equalled, broken or extended.
Guardiola’s team have now joined Preston and Arsenal to have become the only English top-flight sides to win 14 games on the bounce.
Manchester City now have the joint-longest winning run (14) in English top-flight history
Phil Foden became the youngest opponent to score and assist in a league game at Anfield
And finally, Ilkay Gundogan is out on his own as the top Premier League goalscorer in 2021
Phil Foden also became the youngest opponent to score and assist in the same Premier League game at Anfield, while Ilkay Gundogan’s reinvention as a goalscoring midfielder continues as the German added two more goals to his tally on Sunday afternoon to make it seven league strikes in 2021, three more than any other player.
City’s chance to make it a record-breaking 15th win in a row will come on Saturday when they host Tottenham. Guardiola’s men are looking an unstoppable force at the moment.