Udinese 1-3 Chelsea: Raheem Sterling's attempt at scoring a back-heel | OneFootball

Raheem Sterling scored his first Chelsea goal in the team’s 3-1 victory over Udinese.

Thomas Tuchel’s side travelled to Italy for their latest pre-season friendly and picked up a much-needed win after a poor run of results.

Out in the United States of America, Chelsea were beaten on penalties by Charlotte FC and thrashed 4-0 by London rivals Arsenal.

But the Blues looked back somewhere close to their normal selves at the Stadio Friuli on Friday, with summer signings Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly starting from the off.

Sterling made it 2-0 on the night after N’Golo Kante opened the scoring, the Englishman benefitting from some luck following a poor attempt at a finish from close-range.

Udinese goalkeeper Marco Silvestri initially denied the £50 million winger, but his save saw the ball bounce off the Chelsea man and into the back of the net.

Well, they all count…

Video: Sterling’s first Chelsea goal

Udinese pulled a goal back just before the half-time break through former Everton winger Gerard Deulofeu.

After the break, Sterling was presented with a great opportunity to grab his second of the game, however, the former Manchester City man failed to capitalise on it.

To be fair to him, Kai Havertz’s pass across the penalty area was slightly behind him, meaning Sterling had to try and improvise.

The England international took a touch and then attempted an Alessia Russo-style back-heel, which didn’t go according to plan.

Video: Sterling’s attempt at back-heel goal vs Udinese

Better luck next time, Raheem.

While his back-heel was a bit of a disaster, there’s no hiding from the fact that Sterling already looks like an astute piece of business by Chelsea.

The lightning-quick forward was a constant threat throughout his 84 minutes on the pitch against Udinese and he’s only going to get better.

Check out his individual highlights from Friday evening’s match…

Video: Sterling’s individual highlights vs Udinese

Not bad, eh? Sterling, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount – who bagged Chelsea’s third goal – looks like a front three that will really strike fear into the opposition throughout 2022/23.

The Blues have finished their preparatory fixtures for the upcoming season and will now be solely focused on their opening Premier League fixture away at Everton on August 6th.