Tim Sherwood noticed Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling looked much more comfortable in the second-half against Brentford yesterday after a tactical tweak.
Chelsea marked their return to action last night with a really poor 2-0 home defeat against Brighton.
The Blues have now lost their last five consecutive games across all competitions, with last night’s Premier League defeat another bitter pill for supporters to swallow.
We weren’t too convinced by the side selected by caretaker boss Frank Lampard last night. In fact, Brentford boss Thomas Frank claimed post-match he was “surprised” by the Chelsea team.
Our biggest concern is that Raheem Sterling was the only recognised attacker in the starting line-up.
After a very dull first-half where the hosts offered very little going forward, Lampard did switch to a 4-3-3 system to inject some life into the side.
Sterling, 28, started the game as the false-nine and his opening 45 minutes saw him struggle to get involved.
However, the introduction of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mykhailo Mudryk as half-time substitutes for Chelsea allowed Sterling to move across to a more natural position on the right wing.
Sky Sports pundit Sherwood much preferred the England international during the second-half.
“Raheem looks comfortable. All of a sudden, they’re playing players in position they want to play and that’s why they look better,” Sherwood told Sky Sports.
Sterling, who cost Chelsea £50million (BBC) last summer from Manchester City, is now beginning to slot into the flop category.
The speedster has seven goals in 33 Chelsea appearances following a decent start to the campaign, but he’s looked a shadow of his best self in 2023 so far.
There may have been glimpses against Brentford when he received the ball out wide or in pockets. Unfortunately, he’s just possessing very little goal threat right now, which is a major problem for the entire side.
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