- Chelsea had a stir on the pitch after winning a penalty in Everton’s rout.
- Pochettino called the incident “disgraceful” and confirmed that Cole Palmer is his catcher.
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Cole Palmer destroyed Everton with a four-goal strike that reignited Chelsea’s push for a European place, but their coach Mauricio Pochettino said this sensational victory was marred by the sight of his players fighting over who should take a penalty kick.
Everton had a very embarrassing night as Palmer scored a perfect hat-trick inside 16 minutes. He later added his fourth from the penalty spot, although only after a notable fight broke out between Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke.
Palmer eventually rose through the ranks to move level with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland on 20 goals at the top of the Premier League scoring charts, with Jackson and academy star Alfie Gilchrist also on the scoresheet.
Pochettino wanted to start his post-match press conference by discussing that penalty saga rather than the victory itself, even warning Jackson and Madueke that they could be sacked if they dare try again.
“First of all, I want to tell them to make it clear that they know, the players know, the staff know, the club knows that the penalty taker is Cole Palmer,” Pochettino said, having previously resisted publicly naming a designated penalty taker. ‘It is a shame.
Mauricio Pochettino described Chelsea’s penalty incident against Everton as “unacceptable”
Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson tried to take the ball from Cole Palmer after the referee pointed out the spot.
“I am very, very upset by this situation. We were talking in the locker room about the image we sent because this is Monday night football and in all countries they were watching the game.
‘We cannot send these types of images. “It’s a shame and I want to apologize to the people of football and our fans because that is unacceptable.”
In his interview on Monday Night Football, Pochettino warned that Madueke and Jackson would be ‘out’ if they did the same thing again.
“I told them this is the last time I accept this kind of behaviour,” he said on Sky Sports. ‘You are all involved in this situation, everyone out next time.
‘This is not a joke. It’s impossible after a performance like this.
“It shows that we are in a process in which we will learn a lot, we need to change and see more collectively than thinking about individual achievements.”
Palmer added: “Other players wanted to accept it, which was understandable.” I am the penalty taker and I wanted to execute it.
‘We’re just trying to show everyone that we want to take responsibility. Maybe the discussion was exaggerated. “We were laughing and joking about it.”
This was Everton’s first appearance since being deducted another two points last week (against which they lodged an appeal on Monday) and Sean Dyche was furious afterwards.
Conor Gallagher eventually restored order and Palmer maintained his perfect record from 12 yards.
Dyche said: ‘It was a horrible night, without a doubt. We were miles away from the intention and desire to win a game. You have to give strength, make entrance.
‘They were dancing around us. Too many mistakes. There are too many players out of place. We can’t act like this in a place like this. Six great games.
Everton defender James Tarkowski added: “The most embarrassed I have ever felt as an individual.” We can only apologize to the fans who supported us. It depends on the players. It does not depend on the manager or the staff. There are no excuses on our part. We need to brush our feet as we have some big weeks coming up. “We conceded six goals and you should be ashamed.”