There was a moment in the second half when Raheem Sterling lost patience with Andrea Pirlo’s dithering and cheekily dispossessed the Italian great on the edge of his own penalty area. The England flyer has not time for reputations, not when he is too busy building one all for himself. It was a fascinating contrast, with Pirlo switching the play at will with those tight balls around the corner and those cute little dummies. Sterling is old-fashioned, always looking to run with the ball, targeting defenders and trying to exploit their weaknesses. The England forward, thrust into the No 10 role, didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.
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England lost their World Cup group D opener 2-1 to Italy in Manaus
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Claudio Marchisio opened the scoring on 35 minutes for Italy
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Sterling's incisive pass in the 37th minute set up Daniel Sturridge's goal
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The England star, thrust into No 10, didn't deserve to be in a losing side
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Mario Balotelli scored the winner with a back post header on 50 minutes
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With the ball at his feet, Sterling can pull of moves that vaporise opposition
No time for reputations: Raheem Sterling, here dispossessing @placeholder's Andrea Pirlo, was bold beyond his years