Raheem Sterling endured another tough game as Feyenoord were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw against FC Volendam at the weekend. The Dutch team’s stalemate resulted in their third draw in four games, effectively sealing PSV’s third consecutive Eredivisie title.
The former Manchester City and Chelsea attacker has not scored in six games since joining Feyenoord in February following a mutual release from the Blues. Sterling’s modest performance on the left flank, in his fourth consecutive start under Robin van Persie, came to an end when he was substituted in the 77th minute after Feyenoord tried to score the winning goal in the closing stages, but fell short.
Premier League icon Van Persie acknowledged his team’s failure after fans expressed their displeasure with chants of “shame on you”, with the former Manchester United striker declaring: “We must primarily look within ourselves.
“We had plenty of chances to score goals. As the game went on, we got sloppy. We should have handled it better. Then we could have had a little more control and in the second half we had less of it. That’s completely our fault.”
Here’s what Dutch media reported about Sterling’s latest exhibition…
The 31-year-old received modest praise from De Telegraaf, despite his overall lackluster performance, with the magazine highlighting his positive positioning before his efforts were thwarted. Mike Verwey said, “Raheem Sterling had already missed a big chance by then. The left winger actually did everything right, but saw his shot blocked by Ajax loanee Nick Verchulen. The defender celebrated as if he had scored a goal.”
Sterling and fellow wideman Gonzalo Borges came under heavy criticism from AD following Feyenoord’s disappointing draw. Despite his extensive international experience in the UK, the publication suggested that his input was far below par.
Their review read: “With the arrival of Raheem Sterling, who made 82 international appearances, and Dick Advocaat, who later became manager’s advisor, everything has been done to push the sporting woes into the background. But Feyenoord continue to struggle.”
“In that respect, the game at Volendam was anything but reassuring. Sterling and Borges rarely posed a threat with their runs behind the defense, but in one-on-one matches only central defenders Tsuyoshi Watanabe and Theis Kreijeveld held firm. The rest struggled, just as Feyenoord have struggled for a long time.”
As well as highlighting Sterling’s shortcomings, de Volkskrant echoed the sentiments of his fellow media peers in condemning Feyenoord’s wasted chances, with the former England international among a number of players told to bear the blame. He also drew attention to Sterling’s low contribution since joining the Eredivisie, pointing out that “Sunday’s match between Volendam and Feyenoord was certainly of very low quality in the first half, with very few chances.”
“Feyenoord had to be careful about the speed of Volendam up front, especially the wingers Aurelio Ehlers and Joel Idaho.” We watched from the stands, but in attack we relied on our winger Raheem Sterling, who again didn’t make any notable moves aside from a few actions, and we also relied on Gustavo Borges, who came on in place of the injured Anis.” ”
