Sterling scored nine times in 38 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions last seasonYou can tell when Raheem Sterling is at the very top of his game. Just watch the reaction of opposition defenders when he gets the ball.When he’s on it, opponents visibly steel themselves: muscles tighten, shoulders dart back, eyes narrow. Here he comes, get your head on, this could get messy.At West Ham last Sunday, his every touch provoked panic in a Hammers back line that was twisted, turned and run ragged by the speed, determination and direct action on display from the Chelsea forward.He would ultimately end up on the losing side at London Stadium, but his man-of-the-match performance drew widescale plaudits. “Scintillating” was the word Micah Richards used to describe him on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club. He was the “shining light” according to Garth Crooks in his team of the week.Such terms have been in rare supply of late when discussing the England international, with last season – his first at Chelsea – a failure of fitness and form, yielding his worst attacking returns in a decade.But after giving his first club Liverpool the runaround on opening weekend, he scored twice as the Blues cruised past newly-promoted Luton in Mauricio Pochettino’s first win of the season and now has three successive high-calibre games to brandish at his seemingly ever-present and emboldened band of detractors.It is too small a sample size by which to get carried away, but it does hint at a… Click below to read the full story from BBC Sport
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