There’s little doubt Raheem Sterling had recent snubs from Mauricio Pochettino and Gareth Southgate in the back of his mind when he arrived at Turf Moor, despite his half-hearted protestations to the contrary. The Chelsea head coach suggested as much after watching Sterling inspire an impressive fightback, as his side battered the Burnley defence to cruise to a second league away win in five days.
The one-time England talisman was electric down the Chelsea left, setting up the first two goals before scoring the third himself. He even had a hand in Nicolas Jackson’s fourth. “I wouldn’t say I had something to prove,” Sterling told the TV cameras.
But his manager was sufficiently impressed after leaving the 28-year-old on the bench for Monday’s win at Fulham and last week’s home victory over Brighton in the Carabao Cup. “It’s his job to play well,” said Pochettino. “He knows he needs to perform and to show the manager of the national team that he was wrong with his decision.”
Finally, Chelsea are harnessing a sense of healthy competition in their star-studded squad. Most observers would say it’s about time, given the £1bn transfer spend in the 17 months since Todd Boehly acquired the club. It’s easy to forget that Sterling was a £47.5m purchase in the nascent days of the brave new era – and his return of 11 goals in 47 appearances so far comes in significantly below par.
But in this kind of form, responding to his recent omission from the England squad with a clear statement to Southgate, he’s a precious diamond for club and country.
Wilson Odobert had threatened to ruin another Chelsea away day with a goal inside the first 15 minutes, before Sterling made the afternoon his own.
It’s a luxury for Pochettino that he can bring a four-time Premier League winner into his starting lineup. In Sterling, the Argentinian had this game’s trump card: a proven winner with an elite mentality who has now wrestled back his place on the left after Mykhailo Mudryk stepped into the void to score at Fulham.
“Always in football it’s about performance and the players need to feel that they deserve to play,” said Pochettino.
“If we want to fight for big things, we need to be consistent in every game and that comes from competition between the players. With time, with all the players fit, there’s going to be massive competition and that is good for the team.”
Sterling was often a lone crusader in the first half, the only one in blue who looked likely to storm Vincent Kompany’s castle. When the equaliser came just before half-time, it was inevitable Sterling would have a say. He raided up the left and his cross cannoned off Ameen Al-Dakhil, ballooned over James Trafford and nestled neatly in the net.
From thereon, Chelsea took control. Sterling was tripped (just) inside the box by the beleaguered right-back Vitinho. Once VAR had done its check, the ice-cold Cole Palmer rolled the penalty past Trafford.
The quality on offer to Pochettino was always going to be key and, when his side clicked, a chasm opened between the teams. Sterling deservedly etched his name on to the scoresheet after 65 minutes, as a cheap concession in the Burnley midfield resulted in Moisés Caicedo releasing Conor Gallagher, who played in Sterling. In this mood, he was simply never going to miss.
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“He’s a top player,” said Kompany, a Manchester City teammate of Sterling for four years. “It goes to show what this league is about. You play well for one half but it’s not enough. They’ve got wingers who, in one v one situations, are able to create something. They’re a top team, the fact that results haven’t come for them initially doesn’t change that.”
One suspects on this evidence that the results could keep coming for Pochettino. This was Chelsea’s greatest margin of victory since April 2022; it was the first time they’d clinched three successive wins since March this year – and they hadn’t won a game after conceding first in 19 previous attempts. They are breaking down barriers.
With Sterling in this form and with competition for places to intensify when players such as Christopher Nkunku and Roméo Lavia return, rivals: beware.
