In Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday at Stamford Bridge, Raheem Sterling once more failed to have an impact on the game.
Many people were puzzled by Frank Lampard’s choice to start Sterling up front against Brighton.
In actuality, there were three left wingers in the front three.
Before the game, the interim manager explained that Kai Havertz was out due to a minor injury, but he still had the option of using Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who ended up sitting on the bench.
Unsurprisingly, Sterling struggled in this situation.
The 57 minutes that the England international was on the field saw just 15 touches from him, and he lost the ball three times.
In this game, he failed to manage any takeaways, crucial passes, or shots.
It makes sense to bench him against Real Madrid on Tuesday based on his current performance.
The only saving grace for Sterling is that the alternatives have been equally subpar and that he is one of the few players on this team with a track record of scoring goals.
Sterling, who likes to arrive in the opposition box, is unlikely to help in this situation as Chelsea have clearly struggled to handle opposition pressing in the last two games.
Conor Gallagher or Mason Mount, who can drop into midfield, in the front three might be a better option.
Nevertheless, this does not resolve Chelsea’s main issue at the moment.
Even the most optimistic Chelsea supporters would wonder at this point how this time they will be able to overturn a two-goal deficit against Real Madrid since Gallagher’s deflected strike is their only goal in the last five games.
