Chelsea dented Manchester City’s title ambitions by coming away from the Etihad with a 1-1 draw on Saturday evening.
Raheem Sterling returned to where he plied his trade between 2015 and 2022, and kept his celebration muted after scoring the opener late in the first half.
Rodri stepped up with just under ten minutes of normal time remaining to equalise for the hosts, and ensure they left the game with something, although Mauricio Pochettino will be rueing Chelsea’s missed chances yet again.
Jack Gaughan provides some of the moments you may have missed from Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea:
Raheem Sterling was friendly with the Manchester City staff on his return to the Etihad
The Chelsea striker kept his celebrations muted after opening the scoring in the first half
MIXED REACTIONS FOR STERLING’S RETURN
Barring a small smattering of boos from a section of the crowd, he’ll always be welcome at the Etihad Stadium, Raheem Sterling. As one of the club’s modern-day greats after 131 goals across seven seasons, there are plenty of people who wanted to greet him as he returned again.
One such staffer was a first-team chef, affectionally known as ‘Chops’, who joined Sterling as he made his way in, with the pair laughing and joking about old times.
That goodwill changed with four minutes to go until the break, when Sterling cut inside Kyle Walker to give Chelsea a lead. He went against his manager’s wishes and chose not to celebrate.
GUARDIOLA ADDRESSES TRAVEL ISSUES
Fair play to the Chelsea fans who made this trip up from west London on public transport. In their infinite wisdom, the hapless Avanti cancelled the 8:15pm train down to London Euston, meaning the last one back on the rails was just after half time.
Pep Guardiola actually addressed the travel in his programme notes, written before the cancellations. ‘It is not easy to travel so far for a game at this time, so thank you for being here,’ he said.
It’s almost as if this was a sadly predictable predicament that Chelsea supporters were left in. They still filled the away end, with many finding alternative routes home.
CAICEDO WALKS THIN RED LINE
Moises Caicedo seemed like a walking red card for much of the evening but Mauricio Pochettino dealt with him differently to the recent Liverpool defeat.
At Anfield, Caicedo found himself hooked to prevent a sending off but here, with victory in sight, Pochettino kept faith in the central midfielder’s discipline.
Pep Guardiola addressed travel in his programme notes, written before late train cancellations
Mauricio Pochettino did well to set Chelsea up, but the Blues will still be seeking new strikers
PRO-PALESTINE SUPPORT
Around 30 protestors gathered close to the main entrance in the hours before kick-off to protest Israel’s role in the Gaza conflict. One placard read: ‘Kick Israel out of FIFA.’
CHELSEA NEED A STRIKER
It’s hardly a surprise that Chelsea are on the lookout for strikers in the summer with what unfolded.
Mauricio Pochettino did a fine job in setting up against the champions, and they created more chances than plenty of City’s opponents in this stadium, but really should have killed the game off. Nicolas Jackson fluffed his 15th ‘big chance’ of the season and somebody up there with a proper instinct for goal would’ve made the points safe with more comfort.
