Mauricio Pochettino will certainly like what he had seen from his Chelsea squad in their final game before the EFL Cup final next weekend.
Taking on the tricky task of Manchester City away from home, the Blues came minutes from picking up what would be an unbelievable victory at the Etihad.
However, they had to settle for a 1-1 draw, although their defensive display brought a lot of confidence back to the squad that had been missing in recent months.
Pochettino made just one change that was not enforced to his side from the one that started the game of two halves against Crystal Palace.
Raheem Sterling, who had gone quite a while without a goal, was brought in for Noni Madueke, and repaid the manager’s faith in him with a goal in the first half against his former side.
It has certainly not been an easy start to life at Stamford Bridge since his £50m move back in 2022, although many are aware that he has the capabilities to be a star player.
His performance against City will have put him firmly at the front of Pochettino’s thinking as he looks to pick his side to face Liverpool in the EFL Cup final at the end of this week.
Sterling gives Pochettino headache
The Argentine will have been hoping to bring in Christopher Nkunku from the start at Wembley, after easing him in slowly in recent weeks to try and not trigger another injury.
Now though, it is difficult to see where the Frenchman comes in, with attacking places limited in the current system.
Cole Palmer is likely to be the first name on the teamsheet when the fixture comes around, while Nicolas Jackson did his best to prove that he should also be starting due to his ability to bring his teammates into play.
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