Mauricio Pochettino must drop £50m Chelsea star after awful performance against Brentford
Any good feelings that were at Stamford Bridge following a string of impressive performances evaporated quicker than can be believed on Saturday.
A damning 2-0 defeat at home to Brentford brought back all of the issues that had dominated last season.
Plenty of possession and chances were completely wasted by the Blues, while their opponents found the net with ease as soon as they decided to attack.
Only very few Chelsea players can hold their head up high following that display. Cole Palmer picked up a lot of the positive headlines from the home side’s point of view.
One player who certainly did not impress was Raheem Sterling.
The Chelsea Chronicle’s predicted XI for that game had the England international starting on the bench. However, that was before more late injury news handicapped the Blues.
Sterling should be dropped
Mykhailo Mudryk was not fit to start, meaning he became the obvious choice to play on the left wing.
The Ukraine international has enjoyed a return to form for the majority of this season, with the pressure notably being off since he scored his first goal for the club.
Mauricio Pochettino did not seem too concerned by the amount of time Mudryk would have to miss due to his injury, and he may be back for the next Premier League game against Tottenham.
If he is fit, he should certainly be handed a start ahead of Sterling, who has a lot to do to prove he should be a regular for the Blues going forward.
The 22-year-old’s pace on the left wing is unmatched, and can cause real problems to a full-back such as Pedro Porro who still has questions about him regarding his defensive capabilities.