Raheem Sterling continued his good start to the season by scoring a brace and helping Chelsea beat Luton Town
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling talked about things that have made him start this season well after helping the team beat Luton Town 3-0.
The England international has looked very good since the opening day of the season. He played very well in the first half against Liverpool before fading away. Even in the defeat against West Ham, he played well and should have got an assist or two.
But, things came together for Sterling and Chelsea against Luton at the Bridge. The 28-year-old weaved past a couple of defenders before slotting his team into the lead. He doubled that lead with a well-taken finish following a sweeping cut-back from Malo Gusto. Apart from the goals, the former Manchester City and Liverpool star had that menace in his game which was missing last season.
Here’s what Sterling when asked about his performance in this game and how well he has started the season (quoted by BBC Live):
“I was happy, obviously I think we started half decent against Liverpool and then with the loss last week we needed to get a win here, I’m just happy to contribute with that.
“It was a bit of frustration from last season from myself personally because I felt like I was always coming with my back to goal. A bit deep and I wasn’t giving myself enough chances to get into the box.
“I had a conversation with the gaffer earlier last week and we’ve gone through the role and I know exactly what he needs from me and it’s as simple as that, I need to get on the back foot and do what I do and drive at players and get on it and that’s when I’m most effective.”
To be fair to the Englishman, although he was not at his best last season after arriving from City, things were not stable enough at Chelsea to allow him to go through a bad patch and come back strong soon.
Instead, it took Mauricio Pochettino to come in the summer and bring some clarity to his role. Sterling is the type of player who would do so well when there is clarity between him and the manager regarding the need for the hour out of his performances.
Let’s hope the 28-year-old kicks on from here and keeps helping the team to collect more points in the coming games. He seems to have formed a good partnership with Nicolas Jackson.
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Chelsea have opened their win account this season. It was not a straightforward game against a side that tried their best but did not have the quality to hurt the Blues.