Despite a historic four-goal performance by Cole Palmer and a brilliant evening against Everton, an incident during the match infuriated Mauricio Pochettino.
Accustomed to disappointing evenings in recent months, the crowd at Stamford Bridge finally had a reason to celebrate against Everton on Monday night.
In control from the start, Chelsea quickly dominated the Toffees thanks to a wild hat-trick by Cole Palmer within the first 16 minutes of play. The English prodigy also scored a fourth goal from a penalty, securing a resounding 6-0 victory for Chelsea, which keeps the London club’s slim hopes for a possible European qualification alive.
However, Cole Palmer’s fourth goal sparked controversy. It wasn’t due to a refereeing error or a celebration but rather a bizarre and surreal dispute among Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke, and Cole Palmer.
The three players argued for a long time over who should take the penalty, and tensions quickly escalated between them. Eventually, Palmer took and converted the penalty, while Madueke and Jackson continued to argue after the goal and did not celebrate with their teammate.
“They will all be out next time”
The two were then urged by their other teammates to celebrate the goal, under the stunned gaze of Mauricio Pochettino. In a press conference, the Argentine was quite harsh. “Firstly, I want to clarify that the players and the staff know that Cole Palmer is the designated penalty taker. I am so upset by this situation. We cannot send this kind of image. It’s unfortunate and I apologize to the football community and our supporters because it’s unacceptable,” he explained at the press conference, according to Foot Mercato.
“I told them that it was the last time I would accept this kind of behavior. They are all involved in this situation, if necessary, they will all be out next time. This is not a joke. It’s just not possible after a performance like that. It shows that we are going to learn a lot, we need to change and think more collectively rather than focusing on individual success,” added the Blues’ coach.
This incident overshadowed the excellent performance of Cole Palmer, who caught up with Erling Haaland at the top of the Premier League scorers’ table with his quadruple.
