Soccer

‘This is not a joke’: Pochettino angry with Jackson and Madueke over penalty spat

Pair attempted to wrest spot kick off Cole Palmer at 4-0 up, and manager warns it is ‘last time I will accept this behaviour’

Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke argue over a penalty as Conor Gallagher looks on during their 6-0 win over Everton at Stamford Bridge on Monday. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Jacob Steinberg at Stamford Bridge
Tue Apr 16 2024 - 10:56

A furious Mauricio Pochettino said it was “a shame” that Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke took the gloss off Chelsea’s 6-0 win over Everton by trying to snatch a second-half penalty off Cole Palmer.

Pochettino, who confirmed Palmer is the side’s designated spot-kick taker, admitted the incident sent out the wrong image about his team’s mentality. Chelsea’s head coach wants his players to focus more on the collective and he warned Jackson and Madueke that they will be dropped if they do not learn from their behaviour.

“It’s a shame,” Pochettino said. “I told the players [in the dressing room] we can’t behave in this way. I told them this is the last time I will accept this type of behaviour. They’re all involved in this situation. Next time they’re all out. This is not a joke.

“It’s impossible after a performance like this to see this type of behaviour. If we want to be a great team, fighting for big things, we need to change and think more in a collective way. I made clear to them, and now through the media, and I say to our fans and to everyone, Cole Palmer is the penalty taker. And it’s now his choice if he wants to give the ball to another player but not in this way.”

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Chelsea, who are three points off sixth place, were 4-0 up when they were awarded the penalty. Palmer, who had already scored a hat-trick, converted it after the argument ended. He has 20 goals and nine assists in the league this season.

“Other players wanted to take it which was understandable,” Palmer said. “I am the penalty taker and wanted to take it. We’re just trying to show everyone that we want to take responsibility. Maybe it was over the top a bit, the argument. We were laughing and joking about it.”

Pochettino said that the dispute will not impact his selection when Chelsea meet Manchester City in the semi-final of the FA Cup on Saturday.

“It does not work like this,” he said. “They are not experienced players that really know what they are doing. They are young. They are kids. They need to learn. We are like in a school. We need to show that they were wrong, now they need to learn. If they don’t learn, yes, we will take some decision.”

Everton, who have appealed against their latest points deduction for breaching the league’s profit and sustainability rules, are two points above the bottom three after an awful defensive display.

“All the basic principles went out of the window,” Sean Dyche said. “Defensively that was a mile off where we’ve been. It’s just a horrid night. I told them at half-time, absolutely miles off. It’s not even close to what we expect.”