Chelsea’s penchant for chaos this season seems to be inescapable. Things could not have been going much better against Everton on Monday night as the Blues were awarded a penalty shortly after the hour mark, already four goals to the good courtesy of an outrageous first-half hat-trick from Cole Palmer and a fine strike from Nicolas Jackson. What a time, then, for all hell to break loose.
With the match already won and only goal difference at stake, both Jackson and Noni Madueke seemed to believe they had a God-given right to take the meaningless spot-kick, racing to snatch the ball before engaging in a very public argument over who should have the responsibility.
After an excruciating few moments, designated-taker Palmer and captain Conor Gallagher stepped in, looking to pull rank, but that still wasn’t the end of the matter as Jackson and Madueke continued to argue their cases vociferously, even resorting to shoving their own team-mates. Once the debacle finally subsided, Palmer stepped up to slot the ball away and Chelsea added another in a 6-0 win, but the damage was already done.
“It is impossible to have this type of behaviour after this performance,” Pochettino said to Sky Sports after the game. “If we want to be a great team, we need to change and think in a collective way. They’re all involved in this situation. Next time they’re all out. This is not a joke.”
Source Goal.com
