Raheem Sterling's technique has been questioned by former Chelsea defender Scott Minto, who has suggested that the Blues forward does not 'strike the ball' properly.
Sterling's form came to the forefront following his performance in the FA Cup quarter-final against Leicester before the international break. The 29-year-old saw a first-half penalty saved by Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk before putting a one-on-one with the goalkeeper wide.
Sterling then saw a wild effort from a free-kick fly high and wide into the stands. The set-piece prompted an unimpressed reaction from the watching Chelsea fans, with some booing him and calling for manager Mauricio Pochettino to substitute the forward. That didn't happen until the 86th minute while Chelsea were searching for a winning goal.
Sterling was replaced by Noni Madueke, who went on to score a stunning strike after Carney Chukwuemeka's goal in the 92nd minute had made it 3-2. Although Sterling has scored 191 goals in 622 games in his career, he is going through a difficult run of form that has seen him lose his spot in the England squad ahead of Euro 2024.
Delivering his assessment of the Sterling's performance against Leicester, former Chelsea full-back Minto said on talkSPORT: «Raheem Sterling missed a one-on-one; he missed a penalty where he shouldn't really have taken it in the first place.
»Remember that penalty he scored against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge and he handled all the pressure against his former team, in the last minute with everyone watching and he was able to handle it? And Raheem Sterling, as good a player as he is and it seems ridiculous to say because I'd hate to have marked him, but he's never really struck the ball really well as a
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