What Mauricio Pochettino did during the unexpected fight over Chelsea penalty taker vs Everton
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino watched on solemnly as his players fought over who was taking the penalty against Everton on Monday night.
After being awarded a spot kick just past the hour mark, there was a big debate as to who was taking it. Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer were all seen squabbling for the ball.
It seemed as though Madueke was going to take the penalty until captain Conor Gallagher stepped in and gave the ball to Gallagher. This prompted anger from Jackson who barged in and tried to wrestle the ball back.
The striker was eventually pushed away by Gallagher and Palmer with the latter stepping up and converting the penalty to make it 5-0 at Stamford Bridge. While the confrontation was taking place, the camera panned over to Pochettino on the sidelines who watched on pensively and nodded his head as if to be noting down mentally what was happening.
It appeared matters were smoothed over after the goal with both Madueke and Jackson begrudgingly congratulating Palmer on his fourth of the match. His incredible tally this evening has put him joint top of the Premier League Golden Boot standings alongside his former Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland.
This is not the first time that Chelsea players have fought over a penalty this season. Back in October, Palmer and Raheem Sterling argued over a penalty against Arsenal with the 21-year-old also winning the honour of taking the penalty that day.
After that incident, Pochettino played down its significance. “There are a few players who can take the penalty. It’s about their feelings,” he told reporters.
“As a coaching staff we give them the responsibility to decide on the pitch. It’s not only one player, that this player is going to be in charge.”
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