THE NOTEBOOK: Raheem Sterling jokes with Man City staff on his return to his former side, while Pep Guardiola mentioned travel in his programme notes written before Chelsea fans endured late train chaos

  • Raheem Sterling joked with a Manchester City chef on his return to the Etihad
  • Pep Guardiola wrote about travel problems in his program notes before the train chaos
  • Jack Grealish hasn’t been lucky… he’ll now be sweating over his Euro spot – It’s all Kicking Off podcast

Chelsea dented Manchester City’s title ambitions by drawing 1-1 at the Etihad on Saturday evening.

Raheem Sterling returned to where he plied his trade between 2015 and 2022, keeping his celebrations muted after scoring the opener late in the first half.

Rodri stepped up with just under ten minutes of normal time to equalize for the hosts and ensure they left the match with something, although Mauricio Pochettino will once again rue Chelsea’s missed chances.

The visiting Blues fans will think they might have more than a point, but they also had to deal with Avanti canceling the last train from Manchester to Euston, forcing thousands of people to reroute.

Jack Gaughan offers some of the moments you may have missed Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea:

Raheem Sterling was friends with Manchester City staff on his return to the Etihad

The Chelsea forward kept his celebrations quiet after opening the scoring in the first half

The Chelsea forward kept his celebrations quiet after opening the scoring in the first half

Barring a little bit of boos from some of the crowd, he will always be welcome at the Etihad Stadium, Raheem Sterling. As one of the club’s modern-day greats, having scored 131 goals in seven seasons, there were plenty of people eager to greet him when he returned.

One of those employees was a first-team chef, affectionately known as “Chops,” who joined Sterling as he walked in as the pair laughed and joked about old times.

That goodwill changed with four minutes to go until half-time, when Sterling slotted home Kyle Walker to put Chelsea ahead. He went against his manager’s wishes and chose not to celebrate.

Fair play to the Chelsea fans who made this journey from West London by public transport. In their infinite wisdom, the hapless Avanti canceled the 8.15pm train to London Euston, meaning the last train was back on track just after half time.

Pep Guardiola actually discussed the trip in his program notes, written before the cancellations. “It’s not easy to travel so far for a match at the moment, so thank you for being here,” he said.

It almost seems like this was a sadly predictable situation that the Chelsea supporters found themselves in. They still packed the away leg, with many finding alternative routes home.

Moises Caicedo looked like a walking red card for much of the evening, but Maurico Pochettino handled him differently from the recent defeat at Liverpool. At Anfield, Caicedo found himself addicted to avoiding a send-off, but here, with victory in sight, Pochettino remained confident in the central midfielder’s discipline.

Pep Guardiola addressed travel in his program notes, written before late train cancellations

Pep Guardiola addressed travel in his program notes, written before late train cancellations

Mauricio Pochettino did well to get Chelsea going, but the Blues will still be looking for new attackers

Mauricio Pochettino did well to get Chelsea going, but the Blues will still be looking for new attackers

About thirty demonstrators gathered close to the main entrance in the hours before kick-off to protest Israel’s role in the Gaza conflict. One sign read: ‘Kick Israel out of FIFA.’

It is no surprise that Chelsea are looking for strikers this summer given the developments. Mauricio Pochettino did an excellent job in the line-up against the champions, creating more chances than many other City opponents in this stadium, but should have ended the game. Nicolas Jackson squandered his fifteenth ‘big chance’ of the season and someone with good goal instincts would have secured the points with more comfort.