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Raheem Sterling Scores Penalty On Debut But Awful Conor Gallagher Panenka Costs Chelsea

Raheem Sterling scored a penalty on his Chelsea debut in Charlotte but it was overshadowed by a dreadful attempted Panenka from Conor Gallagher.

Robert Summerscales

Raheem Sterling Scores Penalty On Debut But Awful Conor Gallagher Panenka Costs Chelsea
Raheem Sterling Scores Penalty On Debut But Awful Conor Gallagher Panenka Costs Chelsea /

Raheem Sterling (kind of) scored on his Chelsea debut but found himself on the losing side against MLS outfit Charlotte.

The England star played the second half at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday night in his first appearance since signing from Manchester City.

Sterling was unable to find the net in normal time but did so in a penalty shootout after the game had finished 1-1.

However, Chelsea lost the shootout 5-3 after Conor Gallagher produced one of the worst Panenkas of all time.

Christian Pulisic scored on home soil to give Chelsea the lead on 30 minutes.

The USMNT ace showed good control and composure to collect the ball and dink it over keeper Kristijan Kahlina, after Michy Batshuayi's initial shot had been deflected into his path.

Though Pulisic was the star attraction for many local fans, his half-time replacement was arguably the player that supporters around the world were most excited to see.

Sterling took Pulisic's place in attacking midfield for the second 45 minutes.

The England international was unable to mark his debut in normal time with a goal but he came close.

Sterling's moment of the match saw him sprint clear of the Charlotte defense down the Chelsea left, only to be denied by the keeper's foot.

Chelsea were made to rue that miss when they allowed Charlotte to steal an equalizer in second-half stoppage time.

Sixteen-year-old Charlotte sub Brian Romero drew a penalty kick out of Trevoh Chalobah and Daniel Rios converted.

That tied the game and sent it to a penalty shootout, which the hosts won 5-3.

Charlotte scored all five of their spot-kicks, while Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell and Sterling all netted for Chelsea.

But Gallagher's attempt to dink the ball into the net ended in humiliation. His shot barely rose more than an inch off the ground and was easily caught by sub keeper George Marks.

Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher pictured before he took an awful penalty kick against Charlotte in a pre-season friendly in 2022
Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher pictured before his horrific penalty attempt :: Twitter/@ESPNFC
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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.