“We let him down, in my opinion” – Chelsea fan labels Blues star as world-class during podcast despite criticism 

An unnamed Chelsea fan has termed attacker Raheem Sterling as 'world-class' despite the Englishman drawing criticism for an underwhelming first season at Stamford Bridge in 2022-23.

Arriving from Manchester City on a €56.2 million move last summer, the 28-year-old failed to hit the ground running. Sterling bagged just nine goals and four assists in 38 games across competitions as the Blues finished a lowly 12th to miss out on European football. They also finished the season without a trophy.

Following a mass exodus under new boss Mauricio Pochettino, Sterling seems to have found his stride. After drawing blanks in his first two league outings, the four-time Premier League winner bagged a brace in the 3-0 home win over newly promoted Luton Town.

In a podcast on DR SPORTS, one fan said that Sterling is a world-class player despite a poor first season at the Blues:

"Raheem Sterling is world-class. One season doesn't do that for me. He had too many class seasons at City for me to wipe that off him, and quite frankly, Chelsea were a whole sea of inconsistency and uncertainty last season anyway"

Another fan in the same podcast chimed in:

"We let him down, in my opinion, last year. If you look at him, four to five years at City, and telling me that he wasn't a world-class winger, I just cannnot disagree with that more strongly. I have to be completely honest with you. And I understand he's not universally loved as a player, but, for me, he's just, an outstanding, outstanding winger.

Considering his promising start to the new season, Sterling will look to prove his detractors wrong as he hopes to replicate the success he enjoyed at City.

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How Chelsea fared in Carabao Cup opener against Wimbledon

Mauricio Pochettino

After a win, loss and draw in his opening three league games as Blues boss, Mauricio Pochettino fielded a heavily rotated squad in the Carabao Cup opener against Wimbledon on Wednesday (August 30).

With 23-year-old Connor Gallagher captaining the side, Pochettino's men were rocked early, as James Tilley fired the League 2 side in front with a 19th-minute penalty.

Chelsea, though, rallied, with Noni Madueke restoring parity in first-half stoppage time with a penalty of his own. Eighteen minutes from time, Enzo Fernandez came off the bench to rifle the winner into an unguarded net. He could have had another in added time but missed with an open goal gaping.