Leicester City defender Conor Coady has given his take on what happened to Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling at the weekend.
Chelsea beat Leicester by a 4-2 scoreline on Sunday afternoon in an FA Cup quarter-final, with their reward a semi-final clash with Manchester City next month.
However, it was a game to forget for Blues star Raheem Sterling.
The 29-year-old received some loud criticism from some home fans inside Stamford Bridge for his individual dispaly.
Despite providing his 10th assist of the season with a great cross, his performance was littered with many mistakes. For example, he missed a great 1v1 with the goalkeeper, failed to score a penalty kick, plus ballooned a free-kick horribly high and wide of the goal.
The Evening Standard has claimed that Sterling is determined to stay at Chelsea and win over disgruntled supporters that jeered him in the FA Cup.
Conor Coady, who knows Sterling from time with the England national side, was playing in the weekend cup tie at Stamford Bridge. His opinion of the fans booing Sterling is that he’s not impressed.
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Speaking via the BBC’s 5 Live Sport programme The Monday Night Club, Coady said: “We heard it and saw it. At the time when it’s happening you don’t really know what’s going on. I’ll be honest from a footballer’s point of view I didn’t like it. It’s not something you enjoy, those kind of things. I’m probably a bit biased as I’m a friend of Raheem as well but to hear that from any set of supporters is tough and what he has done in his career, I think has been fantastic. He’s a brilliant, brilliant player.”
Raheem Sterling reaction
This two-week pause for the international break may be a good period for everyone to take a breath on the Sterling criticism. On the flip side, we’re guessing the individual will be desperate to get back on the pitch and perform closer to the standard he’s capable of.
We’d like to credit Sterling for his graceful exit when he was substituted off against Leicester, even genuinely clapping supporters amid a chorus of boos.
The winger’s not reached his best levels this campaign, which is frustrating for a team desperately lacking in experience. However, he never hides and is a great professional.
It’ll be interesting to see the response from him and supporters when Chelsea return to action on 30 March at home to Burnley.
