Thomas Tuchel has told The Telegraph that he hated when Raheem Sterling came up against his Chelsea side.
The England international was the first signing of the Todd Boehly era at Stamford Bridge, joining the Blues from Manchester City.
Tuchel proved crucial to the deal going ahead, offering the 27-year-old guarantees that he was important to the club’s upcoming plans.
The German, however, has claimed he is most relieved that he won’t need to face Sterling as an opponent again, telling the Telegraph what he’d seen from him as an opponent helped encourage him to push for the deal.
He said: “Every time we played against him. He’s horrible to play against, horrible! The main point is his intensity and the amount of repetition of intensity that he delivers. This is simply outstanding over the last years.
“He caused huge trouble when he played against us and once you dig in deeper into his data and not only statistics in his goal involvements, it’s outstanding. It’s exactly what we need to raise the level of our players. That’s why we are so sure and that’s why he was, for us, top of the list.”
Tuchel hated facing Sterling
Chelsea fans will be hoping the Englishman maintains his superb goalscoring form, despite seeing his minutes drop in recent seasons.
Being a member of the Premier League’s 100 club does not come through pure luck, so there is an obvious goalscorer in the player who has developed greatly under Pep Guardiola.
This is something the Blues have been desperately missing in the last couple of seasons, with only Mason Mount reaching double digits in the last two campaigns.
If given the keys to the attack, there is real potential for Sterling to become one of the best players in the league again.
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