Raheem Sterling has disclosed his conversation with Juan Mata during the Manchester Derby.
David Silva opened the scoring for the home side and Sergio Aguero doubled the advantage just after the break. Manchester United revived their hope as Anthony Martial levelled from the spot in the 58 minutes but Sergio Aguero maintained his scoring streak as his 86th-minute winner proved to be enough for Manchester City to maintain their unbeaten streak.
At the closing stage of the game, Sterling got the ball near the corner flag and tried to kill some time by doing some skill moves to frustrate the Red Devils. He later was seen having a word with Mata who got furious as he thought it was not a true sportsman spirit.
Sterling revealed Mata asked him to respect his opponent but the English international insisted he had no intention of disrespecting other players.
“He [Guardiola] doesn’t want us to disrespect anyone. I was surprised.
“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.”
