Carney Chukwuemeka says he and his Chelsea team-mates will “stay behind” Raheem Sterling after the England forward endured a difficult afternoon during Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final win over Leicester.
Sterling missed a penalty and fired wide when clean through on goal in the first half before blazing a promising free-kick into the stands in the second.
Mauricio Pochettino was loudly jeered when he withdrew Mykhailo Mudryk rather than Sterling for Chukwuemeka with 10 minutes left and Sterling was audibly booed when taken off minutes later.
“Raheem is an experienced player – he’s had an amazing career,” Chukwuemeka said, after he scored his side’s decisive third goal. “We know what a great footballer he is. He’s contributed to goals, assists and won so many penalties for the team this season.
“It happens. He’s human. Players miss chances [or] have an off day. We stay behind him. He still got an assist for Cole Palmer’s goal.
“For us youngsters, especially me, Noni [Madueke] and Cole, he’s helped us a lot since we came. He’s always on at us, showing us what we can do better, what we can improve on. That’s outside of football as well as in.”
Chukwuemeka scored his first Stamford Bridge goal against the Foxes, latching onto a sublime flick from Palmer. The 20-year-old hopes it is a connection that can be built upon now he is back to full fitness.
“(Palmer) makes a massive difference,” he added. “Even in training we’re always finding each other, we’re linking up well. As soon as I played it to him, I knew I was getting it back.
“He even told me before the game that when I came on, he was going to assist me. We have that combination together, which is good. Hopefully, we can build on it.
“I never lost faith and belief in myself. Even when I got injured, I just thought it was a bump in the road, a trial that I needed to overcome.
“I know what I can do and hopefully I can keep showing everyone.”