pwshub.com

Daniel Sturridge questions Nicolas Jackson's 'IQ' after offside

Former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge has questioned the footballing IQ of Nicolas Jackson after he saw his strike ruled out for offside.

The 23-year-old thought he had drawn his side level against Manchester City late in the first-half.

The Senegal striker pounced on an error by Ederson as the Brazilian spilled a rather tame Cole Palmer shot straight to the striker for him to slot home. 

But celebrations would be cut short as the flag went up for offside with VAR confirming the decision.

And at half-time Daniel Sturridge questioned the striker's awareness of the game as he seemingly just wandered into an offside position.

Nicolas Jackson appeared to have scored an equaliser for Chelsea during their defeat by Man City

But the forward saw his strike, which would have put Chlesea level at 1-1, chalked for offside 

Former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge has questioned his footballing 'IQ' over the incident

It wasn't the only time the Chelsea striker found himself in an offside position and speaking on the broadcast Sturridge said: 'Small margins. It is. It's that IQ as well. 

'Sometimes, you know, knowing that, okay, he's going to take a shot, I've got to time my run to be on side for the rebound if by any chance, the goalkeeper spills it.

'And as an attacker, as a center forward, you know, look, these opportunities are rare. 

'Goalkeepers spilling the ball are rare. So when it does happen, you've got to be there on side to take those chances, because it is very difficult to get easy chances in the line as well.

'He's got to you've got to time your run as a center forward, young center forwards out there watching when you're making those when someone else is taking a shot. 

'It's important for you to time your run for the rebound so you can be on side to take a chance like that, which in this game, he may not get a chance as good as that.'

Despite scoring 14 goals in his opening Premier League campaign Jackson still has questions surrounding his finishing.

And mindlessly wandering offside may not serve to answer those questions as he seeks to hold on to his spot in the starting XI.

Enzo Maresca has already made some ruthless decisions as he dropped Raheem Sterling from the starting line-up despite the England striker being a fixture for The Blues last season.

Jackson had another golden chance from close range mid-way through the second half as he latched onto a ball that looped over the Manchester CIty defence.

But he could only direct his stretching volley straight at Ederson who stood strong to parry the ball away.

His performance against Manchester City before being substituted for Marc Guiu was very reminiscent of his performances last season.

Despite scoring 14 goals in his opening Premier League campaign Jackson still has questions surrounding his finishing

Jackson had a second chance in the second half but he spurned that when he volleyed straight at Ederson

The 23-year-old is full of ability between the boxes, and poses a threat with his ability to carry the ball and run in behind.

But it is once again his composure in front of goal that has let him down, from the lack of 'IQ' according to Daniel Sturridge to a finish straight at the goalkeeper.

Meanwhile at the other end Erling Haaland opened the scoring as he showed great footwork to skip past a challenge from Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella before a delicate dink over Robert Sanchez.

Mateo Kovacic then added a second as his strike from some 25-yards out should have been saved by Robert Sanchez but he could only push it onto the post and in. 

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Related stories
1 month ago - It did not take Jackson long to commit his first offside offence of the new campaign, but it did take around 30 seconds before the assistant referee raised his flag.
1 month ago - Benjamin Sesko. Ivan Toney. Viktor Gyokeres. Victor Osimhen. Aleksander Isak. Those are just a few of the numerous strikers that Arsenal have been linked with since last summer.
1 month ago - Sterling (left) was a surprise omission from the 18 that new Blues boss Enzo Maresca selected to take on the champions on opening weekend, with the game finished 2-0 to City in London.
1 month ago - AADAM PATEL: Last week, Carlo Ancelotti admitted that Real Madrid are considering giving players holidays during the season to cope with fixture congestion.
2 days ago - Amazon's first pick was Liverpool's away game against fellow Euro giants AC Milan, while TNT Sports were left with the rights to show the rest of the Champions League matches this week live.
Other stories
16 minutes ago - The forward was arrested in January 2022 for allegations of attempted rape, assault and coercive behaviour. Charges were later dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
16 minutes ago - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY IAN LADYMAN: There is no such thing as the perfect footballer, the flawless sportsman. Everybody has a weakness somewhere. Don't they?
17 minutes ago - EXCLUSIVE: Their eldest daughter Madeleine, known as Maddy, was the vice-captain of Sheffield United Women and their first player to reach 100 appearances.
17 minutes ago - The model girlfriend of Borussia Dortmund star Yan Couto was forced to swiftly delete her Instagram post after making an embarrassing error that was spotted by fans.
29 minutes ago - Rishabh Pant had to apologise to Mohammed Siraj after his DRS blunder on Day 2 of the first Test against Bangladesh.