Chelsea star Raheem Sterling has received much praise, from the club's fans for his superb free-kick, in his side's 4-0 FA Cup third-round win, against Preston North End.

Sterling found the net from just outside the area with an excellent effort in the 69th minute to put his side 3-0 ahead.

Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, and Enzo Fernandez also managed to get on the scoresheet as Mauricio Pochettino's team prevailed.

It was Sterling's goal - his seventh of the season in all competitions - that captured the most attention.

One user on X compared Sterling to Inter Miami's Lionel Messi following his goal.

They wrote: 'WHAT AN INCREDIBLE FREE KICK RAHEEM STERLING MESSI WHO???'.

Another fan added: 'Sterling, what a goal man'.

A third fan also praised Sterling, writing: 'STERLING WHAT A STRIKE ITS A BEATDOWN NOW'.

One user wrote: 'So, so good from Raheem Sterling here. Beautiful strike.'

Another user compared Sterling's effort to his recent free-kick against Newcastle. They wrote: '3-0 Sterling free-kick, almost a carbon copy of his strike against Newcastle. What a free kick.

A fifth user wrote: 'Fair play to Sterling. He’s amazing from this range'.

Another added: 'Raheem Sterling’s free-kick ability is underrated'.

Meanwhile, another user took the opportunity to criticize Manchester United's Antony. They wrote: 'Sterling has more free-kick goals than Antony has normal goals this season.'