"It Has Not Been a Good Time for Him!" - Man City Duo Heap Praise on Raheem Sterling Amid Uncertain Future and Poor Form

Sterling, who had made just six starts for Manchester City prior to the weekend's win, returned to the starting line-up against the Toffees with Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish ruled out.

The 26-year-old is currently in the midst of a drawn out contract saga with the Premier League champions, with less than 18 months left on his current deal and continuous reports linking him with a loan move to Barcelona in January.

Yet, in recent weeks, Raheem Sterling has started to show hints of recovering his old form in the Manchester City side after what has been a long spell out of the starting XI. 

The England international expertly opened the scoring against Everton after a pinpoint outside of the foot ball by Joao Cancelo, which saw him earn praise after Manchester City's eighth league win of the campaign.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola commended Raheem Sterling for his well-taken goal, which ended an eight-game scoring drought in the league for the former Liverpool man.

In his post-match interview, the Catalan said, "He (Raheem Sterling) needed it and in the first half, he was an important player. He scored a brilliant goal, an exceptional pass form Joao (Cancelo) again."

Rodri, who has been among Manchester City's best players this season, admitted that despite having struggled for minutes in recent months, Raheem Sterling deserved to net the opener in the win - which has taken the Sky Blues to three points within league leaders Chelsea in second place.

"It has not been a good time for him (Raheem Sterling), but he showed his personality today," said the Spain international.

"He has been such an important player for the club the last few years."

After controlling the flow of the tie in the first-half, Rodri struck a fierce shot past a helpless Jordan Pickford to make it two for the hosts, who face PSG in a highly-anticipated Champions League group-stage clash on Wednesday evening.

The 25-year-old added, "We need him (Sterling). I am very glad and happy for him. He deserved this. He trained so well this week."

Raheem Sterling will now be hoping that his classy performance against Everton will see his name remain on the team sheet in the coming matches, as MCity enter the pivotal winter period in the Premier League, while intertwined with Chelsea and Liverpool in the title race.