Raheem Sterling says that Chelsea are still “building a foundation” towards a better team after they beat Burnley 4-1 in the Premier League.
The 28-year-old winger got on the scoresheet and won a penalty as the Blues picked up their third consecutive win in all competitions, following on from victories over Brighton in the League Cup and Fulham in the West London Derby.
Sterling was one of the side’s top performers as they rolled over the Clarets in the second half at Turf Moor. It was the perfect response to Gareth Southgate omitting him from the England squad yet again, although the former Man City star didn’t necessarily look at it that way.
“I wouldn’t say I had something to prove,” Sterling told BBC Match of the Day. “We started well and conceded but then we kept playing and kept building. We took our chances and it was a good performance in the end.
“We were disappointed to go behind but it just shows that we are not giving up and we are building a foundation and making these steps week in, week out.”
He continued: “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.”
Sterling also praised teammate Nicolas Jackson after the striker grabbed his second goal of the season. The Senegal international has come in for criticism in recent weeks for his poor finishing.
“Nicolas Jackson is energetic, he gets about, helps the team defensively and he makes good runs. Grateful that he took his chance,” he said.
“Even before we conceded I wanted to be direct and take on my man whenever I got the opportunity and I was capable to do that on multiple occasions.”
Chelsea went behind after 15 minutes when Wilson Odobert opened the scoring, but they equalised just before halftime thanks to an own goal from Ameen Al-Dakhil.
Pochettino’s men turned up the heat after the interval, scoring three more times through a Cole Palmer penalty as well goals from Sterling and Jackson.They sit 11th in the Premier League table on 11 points.
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