Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was let down by some of his players in the Blues’ 2-2 draw with Burnley over the weekend.
Chelsea wasted a lot of opportunities on the day, registering 33 shots in total.
Cole Palmer’s brace should have been enough for the team to secure all three points, with Burnley going down to 10 men towards the end of the first half.
Still, the Clarets’ two goals would not have been an issue if the likes of Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling managed to put away the good chances that they had.
It cost Pochettino’s side in the end, and both players have since come in for criticism. Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol does not think the former should even be playing up front.
Frank Leboeuf names Chelsea player Mauricio Pochettino cannot trust
Nicol’s ESPN colleague and Chelsea legend Frank Leboeuf has also been critical of the Blues after their failure to get over the line against Burnley on Saturday.
Leboeuf feels that this young Chelsea team are missing the experienced Thiago Silva, who was left on the bench for his side’s draw at Stamford Bridge.
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He also believes that Sterling is not a player who Pochettino can trust at the minute.
Speaking on ESPN after the game, Leboeuf said: “You have Thiago Silva, he’s injured. For most players, the father of those players.
“You should have Sterling, who could help Pochettino in that matter. He does it on the goal that Cole Palmer scored, but he has to finish the action and win the 3-2 and he doesn’t. So he’s not a player you can rely on.”
Raheem Sterling’s Premier League goals this season
Sterling really should have added to his tally of Premier League goals on Saturday with the header that he had.
Failing to do so has left the winger on six goals in 26 appearances. Chelsea would have been expecting more from their £50m signing.
The team as a whole are struggling, which is not helping Sterling. But a player of his calibre and experience should be dragging them out of the mess that they are in and not contributing to it.
In the words of Nicol, Sterling has become a bit of a “villain” at Stamford Bridge lately, but hopefully that changes soon.
