After enduring jeers from Chelsea fans during the FA Cup quarterfinal triumph against Leicester City, Raheem Sterling vowed to return “even stronger.”
Chelsea secured their place at Wembley with a 4-2 win over the Championship leaders at Stamford Bridge earlier today.
Before Sterling’s redemption, Marc Cucurella gave Chelsea the lead, but he later missed a penalty weakly directed at Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk.
Sterling made amends by assisting Cole Palmer to double Chelsea’s lead just before halftime.
However, Leicester fought back after the break.
Enzo Maresca’s side leveled the scoreline with an own goal from Axel Disasi, followed by Stephy Mavididi’s brilliant strike.
The turning point came when Leicester’s Callum Doyle was sent off, reducing them to 10 men with 17 minutes left.
Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke scored in injury time to secure Chelsea’s spot in the semi-finals and a trip to Wembley.
Chelsea fans expressed their dissatisfaction with manager Mauricio Pochettino by chanting “you don’t know what you’re doing” after he substituted Mykhailo Mudryk.
Sterling also faced criticism from fans after missing a spectacular free-kick.
Despite the challenges, Pochettino pledged his support for Sterling, and the player took to Instagram to apologize for his missed penalty and vowed to return stronger to support the team’s victory.
His teammates, including Palmer, Madueke, and Ben Chilwell, expressed their support and understanding, emphasizing that mistakes happen in football.
