Raheem Sterling cuts youthful exuberance to improve as Liverpool striker

Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling admits he has had to rein in some of his youthful exuberance in order to become a serious striker.

The 20-year-old has scored four goals in eight matches since he was given the responsibility of leading the line against Manchester United in mid-December.

His equaliser against Chelsea in the 1-1 Capital One Cup semi-final first leg was his seventh of the campaign and he is closing in on the career-best tally of 10 he registered in Liverpool’s remarkable goalscoring spree last season.

Sterling was criticised in his first match in a central role when he missed a simple one-on-one chance with United goalkeeper David de Gea and could easily have scored a hat-trick, but he has worked hard since then.

“It is a role I am learning and adapting to, but that is something if you want to be a good player you have to adapt to different positions, and that is something I am keen on doing,” said the England international.

Liverpool’s second-half performance against Chelsea was arguably their best this season and gives them increased confidence after going nine matches unbeaten since losing at Old Trafford. Championship side Bolton are next up in the FA Cup on Saturday before the squad head to Stamford Bridge for their return leg on Tuesday.

“I thought we played really well, really composed, and the other young lads like Emre (Can) and Lazar (Markovic) were comfortable on the ball and hopefully we can take this into the next game,” said Sterling.

Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet stressed no-one can afford to let their concentration slip on Saturday.

“Everyone needs to stay calm. If we get carried away, maybe the game won’t be the same. Hopefully we can get the right result at Stamford Bridge and get ourselves into the final. But now we will think about the FA Cup tie against Bolton. That’s on our minds before the second leg.”

Meanwhile Chelsea’s Eden Hazard admits he was “scared” taking a penalty against his Belgian international team-mate.

“I was a little bit scared because sometimes in training in Belgium with (Liverpool goalkeeper Simon) Mignolet), he saves my penalties,” Hazard added. “When I saw the ball touch the net it was good for me.”

Another Belgian, Blues goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, was in magnificent form on Tuesday night as he returned following a minor hand injury.

Courtois said: “The second leg will be like a final. It’s just we win or they win. We have to win in front of our fans and go on to Wembley.”

Courtois’ return saw Petr Cech drop out of the starting XI.

Mourinho is happy to have two high-class goalkeepers fighting for one place in the team and Courtois knows he must be at his best to stay as number one.

Courtois told the London Evening Standard: “Petr is a top goalkeeper and I have to play well to continue to play. We are not busy being against each other, though, we just want to help the team. That’s the important thing.”