Kai Havertz believes Raheem Sterling is a perfect fit for Chelsea after his two goals proved vital in the win over Leicester on Saturday.
The England international’s first goals for Chelsea helped them earn a key win having gone down to 10 men for over 60 minutes after Conor Gallagher’s early red card.
Speaking about his new strike partner, Havertz praised Sterling’s impact since his £47.5million move from Manchester City over the summer.
“We needed goals, he scored two goals in the end and that’s the most important thing,” Havertz said.
“In the end, I think he did well and he helped us a lot today. It is very exciting [having a player like that around]. We have played four games and he has shown his quality today again.
“Sometimes it takes a bit of time to adapt 100 per cent, but he has adapted very fast and we can build on that in the future.
“We are all delighted for him. You can see in every training session how much work and effort he puts in, and he just deserves it.
“It is nice to play with him. He has lot of experience and knows how to move, and it helps you a lot if you have such experienced players next to you. His style of play suits us very well.”
Manager Thomas Tuchel echoed his striker's thoughts and believes the brace will lift Sterling's confidence to be the player Chelsea need him to be.
“Everybody is waiting for the goals, he is waiting for the goals. He’s here to score and he’s never shy to say it and take the responsibility," Tuchel added. “It’s up to us to give him the opportunities.
“There is not one per cent of doubt that he will do it because he has done it over years and years in this league.
“He is mobile, dangerous and breaks the lines so it will come. In the moment, he struggled a little bit with his confidence and dribbling, you could see. Then we were one man down and it wasn’t obvious he would get the chances to score but he got three of them and he scored twice.
“This was super important not just for us but for him individually.”
Meanwhile, Havertz himself has yet to score or register an assist despite starting in all four of his side’s first Premier League games of the season.
He acknowledges the need to do better but lauded Tuchel’s adjustments despite the coach serving a touchline ban on Saturday afternoon: “I don’t know what minute it was but if you have a man down it is tough against any opponent.
“We went into half time and thought, okay, we have to do another tactical plan and in the end it worked. That’s good.”
