Pep Guardiola says Raheem Sterling is more than capable of filling the void left by the injured Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus after his goalscoring performance against Burnley.

Sterling scored his first goals of the season to send Manchester City into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a 3-0 win at Turf Moor, where his striker’s instincts were particularly evident.

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The winger opened the scoring with a first time finish from a Benjamin Mendy cross before tapping home when picked out by Ferran Torres and Guardiola is confident a player he admires can perform in several positions.

“Yeah,” said the City boss when asked if Sterling can cover for Aguero and Jesus.

“Raheem has ability wherever he plays. I am incredibly delighted and happy with what Raheem gives me personally, but also this team, since we arrived four years ago.

“I was convinced he was a guy with incredible qualities. He can play every three days, his recovery, his desire to improve - he is a fantastic guy.

“I think he has improved a lot since we arrived, with his work ethic and dedication. With his finishing he knows he can do more, but he’s grown up a lot.”

Guardiola was also impressed with new recruit Torres, who scored his first goal for the Club with a composed finish to seal a comfortable victory.

The Spaniard was a lively and threatening presence all night and the City boss has been encouraged by his start to life in England.

“Yeah, [he was] good,” Pep added.

“He is a young player and still needs a little bit of time to understand what we want to do.

“He is clever in the final third with his passes. He doesn’t cross to cross. He passes the ball.”

There was plenty to enjoy about City’s performance, with 18-year-old Cole Palmer making his debut and Bernardo Silva returning from injury, but Guardiola confirmed there is less positive news about Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The Ukrainian was not included in the matchday squad after suffering a set-back in his recovery from injury.

“Yesterday, or two days ago, he was injured again,” revealed the boss.

“He was recovered, but he got injured again and is out for two or three weeks.”

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