There’s a bit of a ‘meme’ doing the rounds online at the moment stating that Raheem Sterling’s form hasn’t been the same since his clash with Joe Gomez in that fiery encounter between Liverpool and Manchester City earlier this season.
And you know what? The numbers suggest it’s true, with Sterling’s stats for goals and assists since then dropping dramatically from what he had been producing up until that big game at Anfield.
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Sterling had another quiet game for City in their 2-0 defeat at Tottenham yesterday, and this prompted some mocking from fans on Twitter.
Many pointed out that the England international’s season seemed to have been ruined by Gomez, with the pair clashing on the pitch and then later on England duty too, according to the Mirror and others.
Here’s Sterling’s form this season (club and country) before the game at Liverpool…
Played 20
Goals 18
Assists 8
And here’s his form since…
Played 18
Goals 6
Assists 1
It’s also worth noting that two of those six goals came against League One side Oxford United in the Carabao Cup, so he’s really not been influencing big games in the Premier League like we’ve become used to.
It might just be coincidence, and that a down-turn in form was always bound to happen to a player who’s been so consistent for the last few years, or it really could be that the Gomez incident has rocked his confidence and distracted him.
Either way, Liverpool fans will no doubt be delighted with their defender for ruining one of their main title rivals’ best players!