Raheem Sterling has said sorry to Chelsea fans after he missed a penalty in the FA Cup win over Leicester City on Sunday.
The Blues are through to the semi-finals of the cup after defeating the Foxes 4-2 at Stamford Bridge, but Sterling had a terrible afternoon.
After earning a penalty in the first half, he requested the regular taker Cole Palmer for the spot-kick only to have his poor attempt saved by Jakub Stolarczyk.
This decision appeared costly after Leicester came back to level the game after being 2-0 down at half-time, but injury time goals from Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke secured the win.
Sterling’s performance only worsened, as he missed several great chances to score, sent a free-kick into row Z, and was loudly booed by his own fans for most of the game.
The England winger has faced many jeers from the Stamford Bridge faithful this season, but was passionately supported by Mauricio Pochettino post-match.
The 29-year-old has now conveyed a message to fans, sharing on social media: ‘Wembley Bound. To all the Chelsea fans, sorry for the penalty miss.
‘I’ll be back 10x times stronger to help the team win and continue to keep fighting for the badge every single day. Let’s go Blues.’
Several of his teammates responded to his post, including Palmer who said: ‘My brother. S*** happens no need to apologise gg.’
Madueke wrote: ‘Bro no need to apologise.. we appreciate you,’ while Ben Chilwell added: ‘Its football, it happens. We all appreciate you brother.’
Discussing the penalty incident, Pochettino said: ‘I think you know very well that is Cole.
‘But Cole gave the ball to Raheem, I think they have a very good relationship, it came from, of course, Manchester City, when they were both at Manchester City.
‘When Raheem asked for the ball to take the penalty I think Cole gave [the ball], I’m sure you can see the TV.
‘But that is not a problem, Cole can miss, Raheem can miss, for me their decision is theirs.
‘Of course, I’ll always support the decision of my players on the pitch. That is about to grow, be more mature, I’m always happy we take a decision.’
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