Former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge has questioned the footballing IQ of Nicolas Jackson after he saw a strike ruled out for offside.

The 23-year-old thought he had drawn his side level against Manchester City late in the first-half.

The Senegal striker pounced on an error by Ederson as the Brazilian spilled a rather tame Cole Palmer shot straight to the forward for him to slot home. 

But celebrations would be cut short as the flag went up for offside with VAR confirming the decision.

And at half-time, Sturridge questioned the striker's awareness of the game as he seemingly simply wandered into an offside position.

Nicolas Jackson appeared to have scored an equaliser for Chelsea during their defeat by Manchester City

It wasn't the only time the Chelsea striker found himself in an offside position and speaking on the broadcast Sturridge said: 'Small margins. It is. It's that IQ as well. 

'Sometimes, you know, knowing that, OK, he's going to take a shot, I've got to time my run to be on side for the rebound if by any chance, the goalkeeper spills it.

'And as an attacker, as a centre forward, you know, look, these opportunities are rare. 

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'Goalkeepers spilling the ball is rare. So when it does happen, you've got to be there on side to take those chances, because it is very difficult to get easy chances in the line as well.

'He's got to to time his run as a centre forward. It's important for you to time your run for the rebound so you can be onside to take a chance like that, which in this game, he may not get a chance as good as that.'

Despite scoring 14 goals in his opening Premier League campaign, Jackson still has questions surrounding his finishing.

And mindlessly wandering offside may not serve to answer those questions as he seeks to hold on to his spot in the starting XI under new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.

Maresca has already made some ruthless decisions as he dropped Raheem Sterling from the starting line-up despite the England forward being a fixture for the Blues last season.

Jackson also had another golden chance from close range mid-way through the second half as he latched onto a ball that looped over the Manchester City defence.

But he could only direct his stretching volley straight at Ederson, who stood strong to parry the ball away.

His performance against Manchester City, before being substituted for Marc Guiu, was reminiscent of his performances last season.

The 23-year-old is full of ability between both boxes, and poses a threat with his ability to carry the ball and run in behind.

But it is once again his composure in front of goal that has let him down, from the lack of 'IQ' - according to Sturridge - to a finish straight at the goalkeeper.

Meanwhile at the other end, Erling Haaland opened the scoring as he showed great footwork to skip past challenges from Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella before delicately dinking over Robert Sanchez.

Mateo Kovacic then added a second as his strike from some 25-yards out should have been saved by Sanchez, but the Chelsea stopper could only push it onto the post and in.