Mauricio Pochettino handed the Chelsea players a no-nonsense ultimatum following the penalty fiasco during the Blues’ win over Everton. Three Chelsea players squabbled over who was taking the spot kick, with Pochettino left furious by the incident.
The altercation took place in the second half of Monday night’s victory, with Chelsea already 4-0 up at the time. Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson could be seen arguing over who was going to take the penalty, before Man of the Match Cole Palmer arrived on the scene shortly after.
The trio were eventually separated by Chelsea skipper Conor Gallagher, who snatched the ball out of Madueke’s hands. That wasn’t the end of it though, as Jackson, still incensed by the decision attempted to slap the ball out of Palmer’s hands.
Addressing the situation after the match, Pochettino told Sky Sports: “It’s a shame. I was telling the players before, when we arrived, we had a meeting with all the staff, to explain and we were talking, it’s a shame we can’t behave in this way.
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“I told them it’s the last time I accept this kind of behaviour. It is impossible after a result like this to have that kind of behaviour, it shows that we are in a process, that we need to learn a lot like a team if we want to be a great team we need to think more in a collective way.”
Pochettino then went on to clear up any confusion about who Chelsea’s penalty taker is by saying: “I made clear to them [the players] and now through you that Cole Palmer is the taker. And then if Palmer wants to give the ball to another he can, but not in this way.
“And that is really really sad to see the situation that happened and I’m not going to accept it happening again.”
In the end, it was the only sour note on an otherwise sensational evening’s work for Chelsea, with the two-time European champions running out 6-0 winners. Goals from Jackson and Alfie Gilchrist punctuated yet another dazzling display from Palmer, with the ex-Manchester City man ending the night with four goals.
On the England international’s performance, Pochettino said: “Of course, when we signed him we were talking that he was a great talent. But of course, now he’s doing fantastic. He’s doing really well and he’s a fantastic player.
“The way he adapted himself and his game for his team was amazing from day one. Scoring goals and helping the team to achieve results like today. So happy for him and so happy for the team.”
