Alan Shearer has slammed Raheem Sterling for his penalty miss against Leicester City.
The former Newcastle striker was joined by Gary Lineker and Micah Richards on ‘The Rest is Football podcast’.
He said: “What on earth is going on there by the way? I was getting angry and I didn’t really care. Why on earth is he taking the ball off Palmer?
“Why would you even contemplate even taking it off him?”
Sterling had his penalty saved by Jakub Stolarczyk 26 minutes into the game. His teammate Cole Palmer had a perfect five in five record from the spot this season before the game but Sterling took the responsibility to no avail.
Micah Richards explained the thinking behind the decision: “It’s confidence, though. Cole Palmer is flying. Sometimes a striker or someone in form gives it to a player who is suffering with a (lack) of confidence.”
Shearer replied: “Bullsh**t.
“It’s the quarter-final of the FA Cup. Forget about who you’re playing or who you want to be nice to and all that s**t. Give the penalty to the penalty taker. Forget about all the being nice stuff and ‘I want to get my confidence up and all that’. He’s not on the pens. Cole Palmer is on the pens.”
Sterling was further mocked for his less-than-impressive performance but did provide the assist for Palmer’s first-half strike. The former Manchester City duo combined when Sterling slid a ball into Palmer’s path before sweeping the ball home to make it 2-0.
Despite the assist, it was not Sterling’s best performance. At 1-0, he latched onto a perfectly weighted ball with just the keeper to beat but ballooned his shot wide to the dismay of the Chelsea faithful.
Chelsea led 2-0 at the break but Leicester were level by 62 minutes thanks to a comical own goal by Axel Disasi before Stephy Mavididi sent the away end into mayhem.
Soon after, the Blues had a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. Once again, Palmer and Sterling stood over the ball. And again, Sterling struck high and wide into the Shed End. The miss was greeted by a chorus of boos from Stamford Bridge.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side’s Premier League pedigree eventually shone through. Carney Chukwuemeka put Chelsea ahead two minutes into second-half stoppage time before Noni Madueke finished the job on 98 minutes.
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