Chelsea were held to a draw by Salzburg on matchday 2 of the 2022/23 Champions League this midweek. Playing at Stamford Bridge, the Blues were held by the visitors with a score of 1-1.
The match was also Graham Potter's debut as the new Chelsea coach. Of course every decision Potter is considered, especially regarding the new Chelsea style of play.
Interestingly, Potter played a 3-5-2 formation, not much different from Thomas Tuchel's previous tactics. However, this time it was Raheem Sterling who was asked to fill the left wing-back post.
Those positions and roles are definitely not the ones Sterling is used to taking on the pitch. So, what did he say?
Will be better
During his previous Man City defense, Sterling was known as a winger and attacker. He mostly plays in offensive roles on the field.
This means that Sterling also needs to adapt to the new role that Potter has asked for. So far he said he had no problems.
"I played a slightly different role under the new coach and I enjoyed it. Playing wide, over time I will get better," said Sterling.
"I'm happy to be able to play in attack, but the coach asked me to play wide, occupy the opposing full-backs, get into the box and create chances."
Could be better
A 1-1 draw with Salzburg is certainly not the result that Potter expected in his first match. Sterling knows the results are less than satisfactory, but Chelsea are still in the adaptation phase under a new coach.
"The result is obviously frustrating. With our style of play, the chances we created, they scored with just one chance," Sterling added.
"In the end this result is fairly bad, but I think we occasionally show good football. In my opinion, we should be able to win this game," he concluded.