Chelsea are set to visit Santiago Bernabeu in midweek for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid. The Blues are in terrible form right now and are going through arguably their worst season of this century. Despite that, there are some players that Real Madrid need to be careful about. One of them might be Raheem Sterling.
Sterling made the move to Chelsea from Manchester City just last summer and he is already playing under his fourth head coach at the club. He played his best football under Thomas Tuchel. He did not particularly shine under the management of Graham Potter, but did score a big goal against Borussia Dortmund in the last 16. Bruno Saltor was interim head coach for a game. And let’s see how things go during the time of Frank Lampard, who is the new caretaker manager.
Sterling is someone who has been there and done that though. As a result, he would not be fazed under the bright lights at Real Madrid.
His form has not been great. But Sterling is someone who does have a goal in him, even when he is not playing well. Thus, Carlo Ancelotti’s need to keep an eye on him, if he does end up playing on the day.
Major Sterling claim before Real Madrid game
Despite Sterling’s recent struggles, Lampard seems to rate the Englishman very highly. As reported by Evening Standard, the manager said:
"“I think he’s a fantastic player.“He’s been one of the best wingers in the world for a long time — at times, maybe in some people’s opinion, the best. I can’t remember how many times I’ve referenced: the wingers when I was here previously, at Derby, and at Everton, have watched Raheem Sterling and see why he scores 20 goals a season plus.”"
When asked whether Sterling could raise his levels for the visit to Real Madrid, Lampard said:
"“Yeah possibly.“I haven’t watched every Chelsea game this season, but he is certainly a player of a high level and a high confidence level. It won’t phase him. In fact, he’s risen to games like that in the past. That’s something we’ll obviously rely on. Some elements of the squad might be a bit younger; Raheem’s been there and done it.”"
It remains to be seen whether Sterling starts the game against Real Madrid or not. His experience might see him get the nod.
While Chelsea might be going through a terrible run in domestic competitions, they have not been bad in the Champions League at all. Thus, Real Madrid cannot make the mistake of taking them lightly in midweek.