Speaking to press ahead of the Blues’ Premier League clash against West Ham, the Catalan boss spoke of his admiration for Sterling’s mental strength.
“I cannot anticipate how far his career is,” he admitted, “but I admire that in these kind of situations, he takes that responsibility.
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“He’s magnificent. Always, these kind of players are judged for taking penalties in the Final but he has courage and that’s massive.”
Guardiola also reserved more praise for left-back Oleks Zinchenko, who also impressed at Wembley, explaining how he knew the Ukrainian would succeed in that position.
“I had the feeling that he would understand everything so quickly – that’s why,” he said. “My advice is: be calm.
“He is clever. He usually plays as a number 10 so in that position, he is quick. He makes us play quicker in that position and defensively, he is focused.
“He played 120 minutes against Willian, Pedro and Eden Hazard – but he was so fast!
“He could control them and that means a lot, but Benjamin Mendy is coming back.”
