A lot of eyes were on Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling going into today’s match against Burnley, but he dropped down to the substitute bench for the first game after the international break.
Chelsea ended up recording a very disappointing 2-2 draw against Burnley at Stamford Bridge in Saturday’s Premier League fixture.
The Blues went in front on the stroke of half-time with Cole Palmer’s spot kick, which resulted in Lorenz Assignon being sent off. However, 10-man Burnley levelled at 1-1 shortly after the interval with Josh Cullen’s wonder strike.
Palmer’s 16th goal in Chelsea colours then restored the hosts’ lead in the 78th minute. Unfortunately, Vincent Kompany’s side rescued a point shortly after with Dara O’Shea’s equaliser to make it 2-2.
It’s a crushing result for Mauricio Pochettino’s men, who simply must feel like they’ve let two points slip.
Fan reaction to Raheem Sterling substitution
Raheem Sterling came under-fire for big criticism after his performance pre-international break, so we’re not overly surprised he dropped to the bench this weekend.
Speaking via Mail Plus recently, Noni Madueke claimed teammate Sterling has received “harsh” and “unfair” criticism.
Sterling was substituted on today against Burnley in the 73rd minute.
Journalist Bobby Vincent reported that the 29-year-old winger did actually receive a really positive reaction when he was substituted on versus Burnley.
Vincent wrote via X: “Really good reception for Sterling as his name is read out.”
We’ll add it was glad to see a warm reaction after what’s been a difficult time for Sterling.
The good and the bad in Sterling’s display
What we saw from Sterling during his cameo display against Burnley really sums him up…
The English attacker assisted Palmer’s second goal, which looked like being the winner.
However, with the match at 2-2 late on, Sterling put a glorious chance wide of the goal with a header inside the penalty box.
Our guess is the biggest takeaway from Sterling’s game today will be his miss, so things aren’t getting any easier for him just yet.
We’d be surprised to see him start next week against Manchester United.
FotMob statistics below provides some data of Sterling’s impact off the bench:
- Assists – 1
- Total shots – 3
- Accurate passes – 13/13 (100%)
- Chances created – 1
- Big chances missed – 1
- Touches in opposition box – 3
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