Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling had a very interesting first half in his side’s FA Cup quarter-final against Leicester City.
Raheem Sterling missed a penalty before wasting a glorious chance from open play shortly afterwards. The 29-year-old then set up Cole Palmer, who scored Chelsea‘s second goal of the afternoon.
Mauricio Pochettino‘s assistant Jesus Perez clearly acknowledged it was a really difficult first 45 minutes for Sterling at times, heading straight over to the England international to put an arm around him at half-time, something Telegraph journalist Matt Law spotted at Stamford Bridge.
It has not been the greatest season for Sterling, who has been left out of the England squad once again.
Regarding the Leicester game, though, he was at least able to provide an assist to make up for the missed penalty.
Raheem Sterling’s missed penalty
Sterling has only scored eight goals in 35 appearances this season, so it is understandable that the former Manchester City star wanted to take the penalty.
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Still, he should not have been the man to have taken the spot-kick. Cole Palmer was on the pitch and has put all of his penalties away in the current campaign, some high pressure ones as well.
Palmer has dispatched against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester City. Going forward, if the England international is available to take the spot-kick, then he has to.
Overall, Palmer and Sterling are having quite contrasting seasons. While the latter has struggled at times, the former has really thrived.
The 21-year-old’s finish against Leicester today was his 14th of the campaign for Chelsea. He then followed that up with an assist. It means he has now come up with 26 goal contributions 34 appearances.
When you look at Sterling’s numbers at City, it is the kind of record Chelsea supporters would have expected him to have after arriving at Stamford Bridge. But it has not quite worked out yet for the attacker in west London.
