For the first time since March, Chelsea won back-to-back Premier League games on Saturday as they overcame Burnley 4-1.
On their return to the top division this season, promoted Burnley sought to break a run of four straight home losses.
They quickly took the lead in the 15th minute when Wilson Odobert stunned the visitors with his first goal in English football.
Ameen Al Dakhil’s unlucky own goal three minutes before halftime brought Mauricio Pochettino’s team back even, but Chelsea didn’t offer much of a reaction.
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Since October 2022, Chelsea had lost their previous 19 Premier League games after giving up the first goal.
However, Chelsea turned things around early in the second half when Cole Palmer converted from the penalty spot.
With only one win this year, Burnley remains in the relegation zone.
A magnificent goal from Sterling and a fourth from replacement Nicolas Jackson put the game beyond the hosts, moving Chelsea to ninth in the standings.
Burnley had only triumphed over Chelsea once in 16 Premier League games, a 3-2 away victory in 2017 when the Blues were defending champions.
However, considering the massive revamp of both teams prior to this season, that record probably wasn’t given much consideration.
The only genuine attempt at goal in the initial exchanges came from Palmer’s long-range effort, which flew well over.
Both sides started off as units that had not quite gotten acquainted to one other.
Odobert, 18, became Burnley’s youngest Premier League goal scorer after receiving a feed from Lyle Foster and firing through the legs of Chelsea fullback Marc Cucurella into the bottom corner after Sterling had blasted one fizzing shot just wide of the post.
As the first half came to an end, Chelsea continued to dominate possession but appeared to be in trouble when Al Dakhil tipped Sterling’s cross over the goalie for the visitors, James Trafford.
Five minutes into the second half, Sterling was once more in the spotlight after drawing a foul from Vitinho that gave Palmer the chance to score Chelsea’s first goal, which he did with authority.
Conor Gallagher sent Sterling through for what seemed to be the third goal, and the England international arrowed in his third of the year.
Palmer’s assist for Jackson’s well-taken fourth goal assured that Chelsea supporters would return to the capital beaming after witnessing their team score four or more goals for the first time in 71 games across all competitions.