Raheem Sterling has revealed that Juan Mata told him to ‘show a little respect’ during Manchester City’s victory over Manchester United last month.
Sterling angered United’s players in the closing stages of City’s 3-1 win at the Etihad Stadium by doing several stepovers with the ball to run down the clock. After the final whistle, Pep Guardiola was also upset with Sterling’s decision to showboat and confronted the City winger on the pitch. ‘He [Guardiola] doesn’t want us to disrespect anyone. I was surprised,’ Sterling told The Times.
‘I was keeping the ball in the corner. I can understand if we had lost the ball, and they’d gone down the other end, but I am trying to waste time, attract a foul. ‘I wasn’t trying to take the mickey out of them that they have lost.
‘That’s not my thing. Juan Mata just said, ‘Show a little bit of respect.’ I wasn’t trying to disrespect them. I wouldn’t. ‘I was just trying to keep the ball in the corner and entertain the fans at the same time.’