NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Raheem Sterling has apologised to Chelsea fans after missing a penalty in the FA Cup win over Leicester City on Sunday.
The Blues advanced to the cup semi-finals after beating the Foxes 4-2 at Stamford Bridge. Sterling endured a nightmarish afternoon.
After winning a penalty in the first half, he called for the penalty kick from regular shooter Cole Palmer, but his great effort was saved by Jakub Stolarczyk.
The move saw Leicester rally to equalise after trailing 2-0 at half-time, but stoppage-time goals from Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke secured the win.
Sterling’s game took a turn for the worse, as he squandered several wonderful scoring opportunities, fired a free kick into row Z, and booed loudly through his own fans for much of the game.
The England winger has been the subject of much ridicule from the Stamford Bridge faithful this season, but defended passionately through Mauricio Pochettino after the game.
The 29-year-old has sent a message to fans, posting on social media: “Wembley is on track. To all Chelsea fans, apologies for the penalty.
“I will come back 10 times stronger to help the team win and keep fighting for the badge every day. Come on, Blues.
Several of his teammates responded to his message and added Palmer, who said, “My brother. Shit happens, I don’t want to apologize, gg. “
Madueke wrote, “Brother, I don’t want to apologize to you. . . we appreciate you,” while Ben Chilwell added: “That’s football, it happens. We all appreciate you, my brother.
Speaking about the penalty incident, Pochettino said: “I think you know very well that it’s Cole.
“But Cole gave the ball to Raheem, I think they have an intelligent relationship, which of course comes from Manchester City, when they were at Manchester City.
“When Raheem asked for the ball to take the penalty, Cole gave it to him, I’m sure you can see it on TV.
“But that’s not a problem, Cole can fail, Raheem can fail, to me his resolution is theirs. “
“Of course, I’ll help my players figure themselves out on the pitch. It’s about to grow, it’s about to mature, I’m glad we’ve made a decision.
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