KIT STERRING
Chelsea in awkward blunder as Raheem Sterling listed as No7 on matchday squad list hours after giving it to team-mate
Attacker's Bridge future is in doubt along with several other big names
CHELSEA have handed Raheem Sterling an awkward omen.
The winger's number could be up as his Blues' No7 shirt has been taken away - and now a match-day blunder has made things worse.
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Sterling voiced his unhappiness after being axed him from Chelsea's first Premier League squad of the season - Sunday's 2-0 home loss against Manchester City.
And the ex-England ace might be even more less pleased following an error ahead of Thursday's 2-0 Europa Conference League play-off win over Servette.
Fans spotted Chelsea had wrongly listed him as having his old shirt number in the squad for the first-leg match at the Bridge.
In reality, however, that number has been allocated to £54million newcomer Pedro Neto.
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The ex-Wolves winger was in the starting line-up against the Swiss visitors - with Sterling again not even a sub.
The ex-Etihad star, 29, and Trevoh Chalobah had been stripped of their numbers hours earlier.
That's because boss Enzo Maresca hopes to offload several senior players.
Maresca wants a much-tighter squad of around 21 serious contenders for places.
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And it emerged on Thursday evening that Aston Villa are shock contenders for Sterling's signature.
That means the England man could be playing Champions League football this season, rather than the Conference League with the Blues.
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Chelsea ratings vs Servette
CHELSEA sealed their first win under new manager Enzo Maresca as they beat Swiss minnows Servette.
Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke got the second-half goals to give the Blues a commanding lead in their Uefa Conference League play-off double header.
But it was far from convincing with Chelsea BOOED OFF at half-time.
Here’s how SunSport’s Jack Rosser rated the Blues stars…
Filip Jorgensen – 7
Made some very smart saves - especially late on as the visitors caused problems and came close to finding a goal to get back in.
Axel Disasi – 6
Kept things quiet down Chelsea’s right hand side having been started out of position at right-back. The Frenchman did not offer much going forwards but was more than solid enough defensively.
Tosin Adarabioyo – 6
An assured first start for the club since joining from Fulham on a free transfer. The defender was not caused any real problems and dominated in the air – a big reason Chelsea decided to snap him up.
Benoit Badiashile – 6
Solid enough defensively but looked awkward on the ball at times, especially when Chelsea were trying to pick a way through a solid midfield.
Renato Veiga – 5
Was given the task of moving inside from left-back and looked to struggle a lot at points, losing the ball cheaply on half way at one stage.
Moises Caicedo – 5
The midfielder was sent out in the holding role and hardly helped defensively by having Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Nkunku, a striker, ahead of him. Struggled to get a grip of midfield and dictate the game.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 7
A very encouraging full debut for the summer signing – neat and positive on the ball and created some good chances for those ahead of him.
Pedro Neto – 6
A first start for his new club and the winger made some very encouraging runs down the right hand side. Will take time to settle but looks a very good option.
Christopher Nkunku – 6
Rather fortunate to win the penalty as it looked a touch harsh but stepped up and converted well.
Mykhailo Mudryk – 4
The definition of all bark, no bite. The Ukrainian winger has pace to burn and a huge bag of tricks but neither help him make any significant impact on games.
Continuing to play like that and Raheem Sterling might have a future here after all.
Marc Guiu – 6
Missed an absolute sitter to score his first goal for Chelsea.
After working so hard through the first half, Guiu turned a tap in into a howler when putting what should have been an easy finish straight at the scrambling Servette keeper.
Meanwhile, Thursday's match suffered chaos before kick-off.
Travelling fans clashed with police outside the stadium.
Police eventually allowed them into Stamford Bridge.
But the delay sparked impatience from the Swiss supporters, some of whom began breaking through a line of stewards.
Police were forced to hold the fans back, with at least one officer raising a baton as reinforcements were called half an hour before the 8pm start.
Apart from Sterling and Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Armando Broja were also omitted from the Blues' squad.
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