Carragher takes aim at Chelsea star for "poor decision making" in Luton win
Despite cruising to a 3-0 win over newly-promoted Luton Town on Friday, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher could not believe the way Chelsea captain Ben Chilwell squandered an excellent opportunity to score.
Chelsea picked up the much-needed victory thanks to a brace from Raheem Sterling and new signing Nicolas Jackson's first ever goal for the club, but Carragher felt Chilwell should also have got on the scoresheet.
Shortly after half-time and with the Blues only 1-0 up, Chilwell won the ball in Luton's half and was sent through on goal by Jackson. However, instead of firing off a shot the left-back attempted to square the ball to Sterling and Amari'i Bell was able to put the ball out of play for a corner.
"I can't believe what I've just seen," Carragher said while on commentary duty for Sky Sports. "We had just been talking about Ben Chilwell's role in an attacking sense and it looked like he was going to make me eat my words.
"But that was just bizarre! He drives through the middle and he is in the centre of the goal, unmarked. Unbelievable! It's awful. It really is. Such poor decision making. Maybe he was reluctant to use his right foot, or lost his bearings a little?
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"Just trying to find excuses as to why he wouldn't shoot there. The goal was right in front of him. If Luton get back into the game, that moment will certainly be looked at." Luckily for Chilwell, Chelsea went on to score two more goals and seal their first win of the season.
And the England international was able to poke fun at himself on social media in an exchange with former Leicester teammate James Maddison. "Absolute honour to lead the boys out tonight at the bridge Ps. Shooting practise for me tomorrow," he wrote on Instagram.
"You don't need to practice shooting bro, you need to practice deciding to shoot," quipped Maddison. To which Chilwell replied: "got a nosebleed i think".
Sterling was asked about the moment after the game and told Sky Sports: "Me and Chilly are really close and it was the game against Liverpool where he had the ball on the flank and had the space in front of him and I just kept shouting at him to whip it across and you know he was probably trying to get me one."
Sterling also opened up about the impact new Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has had on his performances, adding: " It was a bit of frustration from last season for me personally where I felt like I was coming a bit deep with my back towards goal.
"I had a conversation with the manager early last week and we have gone through the role and I know exactly what he needs from me - it's as simple as that. In the first game against Liverpool, I felt I was inside the pocket too much and that was the feeling from last season because I was playing too deep and giving the ball to the full-backs.
"We had a simple conversation and he said Raheem, it does not matter where you play, if you are dynamic, aggressive then no one can stop you. I have got that desire and hunger to do that."
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