Raheem Sterling has shared that he wanted to take the penalty off Kai Havertz last night, but he was still confident in his Chelsea teammate scoring from 12 yards.
Chelsea booked their spot in the Champions League quarter-finals yesterday by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The winning goal in the last-16 tie came from the left boot of Havertz, but there was certainly a lot of drama around it.
First of all, Havertz missed a spot-kick early in the second half when his shot hit the post. However, an encroachment from Dortmund allowed the Blues to retake the penalty.
It took huge bravery and nerve for Havertz to step up again, this time tucking the penalty into the bottom corner.
Sterling, who earlier scored the opening goal, has admitted that he wanted to have the retaken penalty after Havertz’s initial miss.
“The second time definitely! But I see Kai shoot penalties a lot of times and I was so confident, even though he missed the first one,” Sterling told BT Sport.
Thankfully, Sterling didn’t make any fuss over the penalty. The £50million attacker is a goalscorer, so it’s only natural he’s got the desire to take penalties, but he put the team’s needs above his own.
The entire Chelsea XI on the pitch put their faith in Havertz to get it right on the second attempt, which must have done his confidence the world of good. As for Graham Potter, he explained he couldn’t even watch the retaken penalty.
Chelsea’s head coach said pre-Dortmund that Havertz was Jorginho’s successor as the club’s penalty taker.
Despite the miss, the German forward showed incredible steel to recompose himself from 12 yards.
Let’s hope Sterling and Havertz can both find their shooting boots in the weeks ahead.
They are joint-top scorers at the club so far this season (seven), but both are well down on where players with their ability should be in March.
There was a lot to like about Chelsea’s attacking trio of Havertz, Sterling and Joao Felix yesterday. If they can find a clinical edge, you’re looking at a really exciting combination.
Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
