Summer signing Raheem Sterling opened his Chelsea account as Thomas Tuchel’s side came out 3-1 winners against Udinese.
It was a much needed confidence boosting win for Chelsea after their tour of the United States resulted in a defeat against Charlotte FC and a 4-0 thrashing by Premier League rivals Arsenal.
The Blues travelled to the Stadio Friuli on Friday to play the Serie A side, summer signings Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly were named in the starting eleven.
French midfielder N’Golo Kante gave Tuchel’s side the lead before Sterling made it 2-0 with his first goal for the club, the winger scored after a lucky deflection.
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Sterling was one on one with Udinese goalkeeper Marco Silvestri after a perfectly executed pass by Jorginho, Sterling hit his shot straight at the keeper but luckily for the England international, the ball bounced off him and went into the back of the net.
Former Everton and Watford player Gerard Deulofeu halved the deficit for his side before half time.
In the second half, Chelsea were on top as they pushed for a third goal, and Sterling was then presented with a golden chance to get his second goal of the night.
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After some neat footwork and a clever pass by Mason Mount, the ball was with Kai Havertz who saw Sterling in front of the goal unmarked and therefore rolled the ball across for the winger.
However, the pass by the German was slightly behind Sterling and he had to improvise.
The Chelsea new boy decided to channel his inner Alessia Russo by attempting a clever back heel finish, but it didn’t go to plan as his attempt was blocked by the defender and Sterling ended up falling over.
Fans were quick to jump on social media to make fun of Sterling’s attempted back heel goal.
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One said: “Why is Sterling allergic to an open goal? lmao.”
Another fan tweeted: “Lol….everyone can’t be @alessiarusso7.”
A third fan added: “It’s going to be a long season for Chelsea and Sterling.”
Not Sterling’s finest moment but he will be delighted to have opened his Chelsea account ahead of the Premier League season getting underway next weekend.
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Mount scored the final goal of the evening to make it 3-1 to Chelsea as they ended their pre season with a win.
Attentions will now be on next weekend as they kick off their 22/23 at Goodison Park against Everton before hosting Tottenham Hotspur the weekend after.
Topics: Chelsea, Raheem Sterling
Marcus Chan