Raheem Sterling and Ashley Cole identify same problem that could "haunt" Chelsea

22 August 2023 , 01:00

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Chelsea star Raheem Sterling (Image: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)

Raheem Sterling has admitted Chelsea's lack of ruthlessness cost them dearly in their 3-1 loss to West Ham, while former star Ashley Cole has questioned where the goals are going to come from this season.

Chelsea have undergone a major rebuild this summer under new boss Mauricio Pochettino, with the likes of Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and N'Golo Kante leading a mass exodus that has seen 13 senior players depart Stamford Bridge.

More than £350m has been spent this summer on Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Robert Sanchez and Lesley Ugochukwu, adding to the £600m+ Chelsea spent on new players last season.

However, the Blues' biggest problem as they endured their worst ever Premier League campaign was a lack of goals, with Havertz and Sterling their joint top scorer with nine strikes across all competitions.

Jackson and Nkunku have been signed to try and rectify the issue, but Nkunku has been sidelined with a serious knee injury while Jackson had less than 50 top-flight games under his belt before joining Chelsea.

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And they failed to take their chances against West Ham, losing the game 3-1 despite having 17 shots, 76 per cent possession and a man advantage after Nayef Aguerd was sent off. Reflecting on the loss, Sterling told Sky Sports: "It is a difficult one to take, the chances we created and dominating at an away ground.

"They took their chances and they deserve it in the end. Dominating a game at a ground like West Ham's you have got to take your chances, this is the Premier League and it will come back to haunt you. When that second goal went in it was a downer, as we have not taken our chances and they took theirs.

Ashley Cole has questioned where the goals will come from for Chelsea this season (UEFA via Getty Images)

"It is stepping stones, we dominated the game and physically we are better, we just need to cut out some of the sloppy play."

Ex-Chelsea star Cole, meanwhile, highlighted the lack of a proven goalscorer as the biggest issue facing Pochettino this season.

"I really feel there's going to be a problem in terms of goals," he told Sky Sports. "Whether Nkunku comes back quicker than we think I don't know, for me he's a big loss. You're looking at other players around, [Mykhaylo] Mudryk sometimes is a little bit too far away from the game, is he arriving in the box enough?

"That's what you want, penetration, runs in behind, causes defences problems. Raheem I thought was brilliant as well as Jackson, but it's where the goals are going to come from."

Matthew Cooper