Sterling’s mistakes were ultimately avenged by his team-mates as Chelsea scored twice in stoppage time to seal a 4-2 win, sending them through to the FA Cup semi-finals at Leicester’s expense.

After Marc Cucurella’s opener, Sterling had a golden chance to double the lead but scuffed a tame spot-kick towards Jakub Stolarczyk. The former Manchester City man’s finishing was off the mark all afternoon as he then curled a one-on-one opportunity miles wide of the post.

But it was a miscued free-kick which flew into the stands that sparked boos from Chelsea supporters, and a smattering of them also gave Sterling a piece of their mind when he was substituted in the second half.

Pochettino was having none of it after the game, however, demanding encouragement for the wide man who notched an assist by setting up Palmer for Chelsea’s second goal of the game.

“We need to support him, he’s an amazing player,” the Argentine told BBC One. “He has more than 10 years of experience in the Premier League. Of course I think his contribution [to the game] was good.

“What the fans want is to go to Wembley and we achieved that. They need to trust me to manage in the way I think is the best way for the club. We need to respect their opinion as much as they need to respect my decisions.”

Chelsea are on their way to Wembley for the second time this season, although Pochettino will hope for a better result than they managed on their first outing, which saw them lose 1-0 to an inexperienced Liverpool side after extra-time in the Carabao Cup final.