Following the summer that Raheem Sterling endured, few would've predicted that he would have bounced back in this fashion. A summer long witch hunt seemed to leave him bereft of what little confidence he had left, attacked for his lifestyle as well as being charged with being 'England's worst player of the tournament'.
Raheem's revival
If anyone could turn around Sterling's fortunes it would be Pep Guardiola, his absolute belief in Sterling's ability has done the trick with the winger claiming two goals and four assists in four appearances so far this season.
Last season we saw a Sterling afraid of taking on his man, restricted to the channels as well as having to wait for the overlap, leaving him looking foolish at times last season. Under Pep we've seen a Sterling that relishes one on ones, running at defenders and perhaps most exciting to see is his willingness to drop his shoulder and take a shot on goal.
His finishing has come a long way too, with Sunday's game against West Ham United tipifying this, two measured finishes from Sterling saw City cruise home to a 3-1 victory, earning his second MOTM in the process. Raheem's second was the pick of the bunch, having rounded Adrián, Sterling was left with a seemingly impossible angle to finish but slotted home so cooly it left some in amazement that he had pulled it off.
Raheem however has remained rather modest in the wake of his new found form insisting he doesn't have a point to prove to his critics and he's right.
Sterling is a player of immense quality and potential and on his day can be one of the most formidable wingers in the Premier League, many seem to forget how pinnacle he was to Liverpool's Premier League campaign in the 13/14 season as well as being City's best player of the Champions League group stages.
A learning curve
Speaking with the Manchester Evening News Raheem spoke about how it was a step up from Liverpool last season and took time for him to adjust; "Last year it was a massive learning curve for me. It's something that I will definitely take into every season with me to remember that sort of stuff and just to move forward from it."
If Raheem keeps his head down, as he has done throughout pre-season and the start of the new campaign, he will exceed all the expectations opposition fans and the media had for him.
Under Guardiola, Sterling has the potential to become one of Europe's best wingers and has shown it in these first few games and with the boss insisting that he has nothing to do with Raheem's form it is clear that he has at last found his feet at Manchester City through his own self belief.