Unseen reaction as Mauricio Pochettino left bemused to chelsea penalty drama
Mauricio Pochettino was determined not to let a childish incident ruin what was a sensational Chelsea display – and result – against Everton on Monday night.
The Blues thumped the relegation-threatened Toffees 6-0 at Stamford Bridge in another Cole Palmer-inspired display. The 21-year-old is now the Premier League’s joint-top scorer, alongside Erling Haaland, with 20 goals to his name.
Palmer struck four times for the Blues in SW6, with a hat-trick that took him just 16 minutes from his first to third goal. There was time for the England international, who is now a serious contender to be named Premier League Player of the Season, to get a fourth but it was marred by the antics before he converted the ball past Jordan Pickford from 12 yards out.
Noni Madueke had the ball in his hands, but Nicolas Jackson was also desperate to take it. Malo Gusto was attempting to be the mediator between the pair before Conor Gallagher, the captain on the night, got involved and told Madueke to give the ball to Palmer.
Jackson came back for round two and wanted to throw his hat into the ring. But after pushing Jackson away, Palmer ended up taking it and sending Pickford the wrong way for his 23rd goal of the season in all competitions. There were loud boos ringing around Stamford Bridge, though, in the build-up to the penalty being taken.
Pochettino said: “I am going to tell you, to make it clear; the players know, the staff know, the club know that the penalty taker is Cole Palmer. All that happened after is a shame. I am so, so upset about this situation.”
He later added: “I am not going to accept again this type of behaviour. I am going to be very strong if something like this happens again.
“I was telling them and I promise this is not going to happen again. It is the type of process that we need to learn when you have a young squad that sometimes the personal aims are in front of the collective.”
When all of it was unfolding in front of our eyes, one supporter located in the East Stand shouted “Sort it out, Poch”. The Argentine then turned around to the fans and simply shrugged his shoulders with a confused look on his face. He was just bemused as everyone else inside Stamford Bridge.
The post-match press conference, unsurprisingly, was dominated by questions on the incident. Pochettino wanted to talk about the game and while he attempted to elude the drama, speaking about the brilliance of Palmer, the head coach was unable to change the subject as Chelsea’s immaturity showed once again.
Palmer, Chelsea’s definitive penalty taker from now on as Pochettino continued to insist, played down the incident to Sky Sports after the full-time whistle. The England international, who is close friends with Madueke, even said the players have since had a laugh and joke about what happened in front of the Shed End in the second-half.
“Other players wanted to take it which is understandable with the game at 4-0,” Palmer explained. “But I’m the penalty taker and I wanted to take it so in the end I took it.
“I think we are just trying to show everyone that everyone wants to take responsibility and stuff like that. Maybe it was a bit over the top with the arguing and stuff but everyone wants to win, help and stuff so it is nothing major. We were laughing and joking about it. The gaffer has told us now.”
Chelsea have now been awarded 12 penalties in the Premier League – more than any other side. Eleven of those spot-kicks have been converted with Palmer having a 100 per cent success rate with his nine penalties this season.
