SWEET RAH-LIEF

Sterling ends wait for first goals at the Bridge

STAMFORD BRIDGE rose to hail Raheem Sterling the goalscorer, and boy did Chelsea need him.

The £50million summer signing from Manchester City broke his duck with a double strike at the fourth attempt.

His two second-half goals came with the Blues up against it, with banned boss Thomas Tuchel joined in the stands by Conor Gallagher after 28 minutes for two bookings.

They came in a 16-minute spell after half-time when Sterling should have had a hat-trick.

Leicester responded and Brendan Rodgers’ side deserved more from an incident-packed game.

Jamie Vardy should have had a hat-trick, while Ayoze Perez hit the bar after Harvey Barnes had pulled a goal back.

If it has been a rough start to the season for the Foxes, who now expect to lose Wesley Fofana to Chelsea, spare a thought for

Gallagher. The Academy graduate’s dream of nailing down a spot at his boyhood club turned into a 28-minute nightmare.

Plans to send the England midfielder out on loan have been shelved with N’golo Kante ruled out for at least a month.

But his only significant touches came on 22 minutes when he tripped Kiernan Dewsbury-hall. Then he repeated the trick as Barnes looked to break from deep in his own half six minutes later.

By that time Ruben Loftus-cheek had a shot blocked by keeper Danny Ward and had a penalty overturned by VAR for an offside call on Kai Havertz.

Daniel Amarty then had a goal ruled out for a soft foul by Barnes on Edouard Mendy.

Vardy pulled a shot horribly wide before Mendy denied Dennis Praet on half-time. It proved a crucial stop as with the first attack after the break, Sterling cut inside and let fly with a right-foot shot that looped up off Amarty and over Ward into the far left corner of the net.

Sterling then struck the post. But he made no mistake when he was left unmarked at the far post to turn in Reece James’ driven 63rd-minute cross.

The Foxes dragged themselves back into the game three minutes later when Barnes played a one-two with Vardy on the edge of the box and beat Mendy at his near post.

And the visitors pushed in vain for an equaliser to leave Sterling rightly milking the adulation of the relieved home crowd.

CHELSEA: Mendy 5; James 8, Chalobah 7, Silva 6, Cucurella 7 (Chilwell (90) 5); Gallagher 4, Jorginho 6 (Pulisic (75) 5); Loftuscheek 6, Mount 5 (Azpilicueta (45) 6), Sterling 9 (Kovacic (75) 6); Havertz 6 LEICESTER: Ward 6; Castagne 6, Evans 7, Amarty 6, Justin 7; Tielemans 7 (Ndidi (89) 5), Soumare 6 (Iheanacho (55) 5), Praet 6 (Perez (55) 6) Dewsbury-hall 7, Barnes 7; Vardy 6 STAR MAN: Raheem Sterling – Two goals in a golden second-half spell when he should have had a hat-trick. REF: Paul Tierney 7