Mauricio Pochettino backs Chelsea star Raheem Sterling performance after forward was whistled in a 4-2 win over Leicester City
Mauricio Pochettino has defended Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling, who endured a bad day at the office in Chelsea’s 4-2 win over Leicester City in the FA Cup quarterfinal. The Blues started the game on the front foot, with Nicolas Jackson setting up Marc Cucurella in the 13th minute.
The host won the penalty, and Sterling stepped up to take the spot kick but fluffed his chances embarrassingly. The forward did make redemption when he subsequently found Cole Palmer at the near post, who made it a 2-0 win before the interval.
But in the second half, things went sideways when Axel Disasi’s own goal from 35 yards out in the 51st minute gave the Foxes the spark they needed to mount a comeback. Subsequently, Stephy Mavididi curled in a fantastic equaliser to bring Leicester into the game.
Nonetheless, the Blues kept their nerves in the game and replied, following the goals from two substitutes, Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke, to spearhead the Blues into the semi-final. After the game, the Argentine was questioned about fans’ whistling of Sterling. He said via BBC:
“We need to support him; he’s an amazing player. He has more than 10 years of experience in the Premier League. Of course, I think the contribution was good. He was a little bit unlucky with some actions where he should have scored. But we are a team, and we need to be there for everyone.’’
Sterling endured one of the poorest days at the office and wasn’t at his best. His cameo was among the most awful; he blocked Mykhaylo Mudryk’s obvious goal before missing a penalty. Later on, he also squandered a fantastic opportunity to end the game early in the first half.
He consistently falls short of our expectations when it counts, and Pochettino also made a poor decision when he replaced Mudryk instead of Sterling. After playing in the Premier League for years—you cannot expect such a performance from a player who has been in the English top flight for ten years—the 29-year-old needs to do better than just be inconsistent.
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This is a recurring problem for the former Liverpool star and if it persists, he can lose his starting spot. Pochettino will need to make some risky decisions in upcoming games to send an ultimate message to the England international.