One by one, Raheem Sterling is settling all his scores. With his media enemies called out, and after many match-winning performances to silence his football critics, Sterling scored with the final penalty of a marathon Cup final against a club to which he paid a painful visit in December.

It would be wrong to cast aspersions against any Chelsea supporter who stood behind Kepa Arrizabalaga’s goal for the spot-kicks that decided this Carabao Cup final. Guilt by association is not fair. But there must have been added satisfaction for Sterling, given that he was racially abused at Stamford Bridge before Christmas. Manchester City’s England forward took a stand that day, calling out his abusers and impeaching parts of the media for the way they portray him. Wherever the bigots were watching, you can only hope they experienced an extra jab of agony when Sterling dispatched his penalty “top bins.”

Top bins is where Sterling told Pep Guardiola he had struck the 10th and final penalty. City’s manager wanted to know because he had been unable to watch the denouement. For all the gazillions City have spent on players, the least of the four competitions they hope to win assumed an importance far out of proportion to its actual value.