Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino apologised to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola after failing to shake his hand after their clash on Sunday, November 12.
The two sides played out a thrilling 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday. As referee Anthony Taylor blew the final whistle, Chelsea appeared to be setting up a counter-attack. This saw Pochettino storm on the pitch instead of shaking hands with Guardiola.
After the game, though, the Argentine apologised to Taylor and Guardiola, saying (via Eurosport):
"I need to apologise to Anthony [Taylor] and the officials. In this moment, I feel Raheem [Sterling] can go through to score the fifth. In this moment when we finish the game, I turn to Anthony and say 'What the, you know, is going on? Why stop in this moment the action?'
"Then, I turned and said 'I deserve to be booked' because yes, I crossed the limit. I want to apologise because it is not a good image for me and for football, this type of behaviour."
When asked about his handshake snub with Guardiola, Pochettino said:
"Yes, I want to apologise to him because in this moment I didn't see, I was focused on the action. So I want to apologise to Pep also."
Pochettino was also booked for his dissent towards referee Anthony Taylor.
Chelsea hold Manchester City to a thrilling 4-4 draw before international break
The Blues welcomed Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on the back of a stunning 4-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. City, meanwhile, had hammered Bournemouth 6-1 in their previous league game.
On Sunday, the Cityzens drew first blood as Erling Haaland converted a penalty (25') after being fouled in the box by Marc Cucurella. Thiago Silva, however, restored parity four minutes later with an excellent header from a corner.
Raheem Sterling then scored against his former club in the 37th minute before Manuel Akanji made it 2-2 (45+1') just before half-time. Erling Haaland restored Manchester City's lead from close range (47') before Nicolas Jackson equalised for Chelsea (67').
Rodri then made it 4-3 in the 86th minute and many expected Manchester City to put the game to bed. However, Chelsea's persistence and quality paid off as Armando Broja won a penalty in stoppage time. Cole Palmer, another former City forward, scored (90+5') to make it 4-4.
With the win, Manchester City retained their position at the top of the league while Chelsea remained 10th. City have just a one-point lead over second-placed Liverpool, whom they face at home after the international break.