On Sunday, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino saw his charges fall to their first defeat since taking over at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues fell to a disappointing 3-1 defeat away at West Ham in the Premier League, despite the hosts falling down to 10 men.
Penalties played a big role in the outcome of the match. Enzo Fernandez failed to convert his, while Lucas Paqueta made sure of all three points with his spot kick.
Meanwhile, Moises Caicedo’s highly-anticipated debut didn’t go to plan as he struggled after coming off the bench for the Blues, including giving away the late penalty.
Chelsea had some good moments overall but failed to break down a Hammers side that successfully shut up shop after losing Nayef Aguerd to a second yellow.
Raheem Sterling was one of the better Blues players on the day. He looks like the Sterling of old, capable of terrorising defences with his pace and trickery.
He was eager to make something happen, running at defenders and overall being really direct, which is great to see.
‘Bold and committed’
Speaking after the game, Pochettino waxed lyrical about Sterling, saying he and his coaches “trust him” and has been meeting expectations.
The Chelsea boss also acknowledged that the £47.5million man was “not happy” with how things panned out for the team on Sunday.
Football.london asked Pochettino whether he thought Sterling’s performance was positive since taking the reins at the Bridge.
“Yes, I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not,” replied the Argentine.
“We were talking a lot this week in my office and we trust him.
“He’s a player that can deliver what we want and today, he was fantastic.
“For sure, we are not happy and he is not happy because he performed but we didn’t win.
“But that is the way we expect a player to perform, to be bold and committed with the team.”
Our view
While Sunday’s display showed Pochettino still has a lot of work to do, Sterling’s display really bodes well for the future.
He looks like the Sterling of old, the one at Liverpool who terrorised defences time and time again with his pace and flair.
It’s good to see him playing like this and it’ll be exciting to see how he continues to fare under Poch.
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