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WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo in disguise?! Raheem Sterling scores sumptuous free-kick to put Chelsea out of sight in FA Cup clash against Preston

The England international scored his team's third goal in the 69th minute with a brilliant free-kick against Preston North End in an FA Cup third-round clash on Saturday. The way Sterling took the free-kick, with a short runup right before launching a powerful shot, was extremely similar to how Ronaldo is used to taking his free-kicks.

WHAT HAPPENED?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">PICK THAT OUT 😱<a href="https://twitter.com/sterling7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sterling7</a> with a stunner for <a href="https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChelseaFC</a> 😮‍💨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EmiratesFACup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EmiratesFACup</a> <a href="https://t.co/vbwQTOYiJm">pic.twitter.com/vbwQTOYiJm</a>— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) <a href="https://twitter.com/EmiratesFACup/status/1743709813031215569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2024</a></blockquote>
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WATCH THE CLIP

Armando Broja opened the scoring for the Blues in the 58th minute before Thiago Silva doubled their lead eight minutes later. Sterling soon scored the third goal and Enzo Fernandez then capped off the game with a strike in the 85th minute as the <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/lists/chelsea-player-ratings-vs-preston-raheem-sterling-armando-broja/blt70d7d5008d48671c" target="_blank">Premier League giants blew the Championship side away</a> to qualify for the fourth round.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Pochettino's men will now shift focus to another cup competition as they are all set to face Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash on Tuesday.

WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo in disguise?! Raheem Sterling scores sumptuous free-kick to put Chelsea out of sight in FA Cup clash against Preston | Goal.com

Raheem Sterling almost emulated Cristiano Ronaldo while taking a brilliant free-kick during Chelsea&apos;s FA Cup clash against Preston.