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CHELSEA boss Mauricio Pochettino has challenged Raheem Sterling to consistently play well and prove Gareth Southgate was wrong to leave him out of the England squad.
Sterling had a hand in all four goals as the Blues romped to victory after falling behind at Burnley.
The veteran of 82 caps last played for England at last year’s World Cup and has just been left out of a fourth successive squad for a friendly with Australia and a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy.
“I think a player with his experience knows he needs to perform and to show the manager of the national team he was wrong in the decision,” said Pochettino after Chelsea scored four goals in a Premier League match for the first time since April 2022.
“Only with performances and scoring goals is he going to show he deserved to go.”
Sterling’s heroics at Turf Moor came after 18-year-old French forward Wilson Odobert marked his first Premier League start by drilling low and hard past Robert Sanchez to send Burnley into raptures.
Chelsea were disjointed for spells but were back on level terms before half-time thanks to an own goal.
A cross by Sterling, back in the starting XI after a virus, struck the knee of Belgium defender Ameen Al-Dakhil and looped over James Trafford into the net.
Chelsea, inspired by Sterling, then scored three times in a strong second-half showing to take the points.
Sterling – a four-time Premier League winner – won a penalty after being fouled by Brazilian defender Vitinho, which allowed Cole Palmer to score his first goal for the Blues since moving from Manchester City.
The former Manchester City player then scored his side’s third with an arrowed finish after Conor Gallagher had spotted his run.
Play restarted after Sterling’s goal before referee Stuart Attwell stopped the game as a check by the video assistant referee (VAR) for a potential offside was still continuing. The goal was eventually allowed to stand.
Substitute Nicolas Jackson sealed the points with a spin and finish, with Sterling once again involved in the move.
Having won at Fulham on Monday, it is the first time Chelsea have secured back-to-back away wins in the Premier League since October 2022.
This was a comprehensive showing by Pochettino’s side as they scored four goals in a Premier League match for the first time in 18 months.
Chelsea have found goals hard to come by this season but, with Sterling running the show, they had no such problems in east Lancashire.
“I wouldn’t say I had something to prove,” Sterling told Match of the Day.
“I took the strike and I’m happy to score. We’re just building, that’s all we can do. Just keep building and keep working on the training field to replicate that in matches.”
This was only Chelsea’s seventh top-flight win in the calendar year and they remain a work in progress under Pochettino, with Arsenal expected to provide a much sterner test when the two sides meet after the international break on 21 October (17:30 BST).
But having gone into September’s international break with four points from four games, they now appear to be moving in the right direction with goals beginning to flow.
Burnley were looking to build momentum having won for the first time in the league this season at Luton on Tuesday.
It looked to be going to plan for Vincent Kompany’s side when the highly-rated Odobert scored his first Premier League goal.
Odobert followed it up with a cross which almost led to a second goal before the Clarets defence crumbled after Al-Dakhil’s own goal.
Only bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United have conceded more than Burnley, who have not kept a clean sheet in the league since winning promotion.
It is not only the defence that needs fixing.
After five successive home league defeats, Burnley have to quickly find a way of winning in front of their own fans if they are to give themselves a chance of staying up.
“I wish there was a magic wand to solve everything but it’s a lot of work on the training ground to get the basics right,” said Clarets boss Kompany.
“We’ve done it in games and done it well but it’s been spells and that’s our own mistake and we have to work on it.”
Kompany, who was part of two title-winning City sides with Sterling, could only puff out his cheeks when asked about his former team-mate.
“He’s a top player,” he added.
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October 7, 2023 @ 20:43 GMT|
Tags: Gareth Southgate Mauricio Pochettino Raheem Sterling
