Manager fumes over penaltytaker mayhem

LONDON: Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino should have been beaming after his team destroyed Everton 60 yesterday but rather than celebrating Cole Palmer’s remarkable fourgoal display he instead fumed about his players arguing on the pitch.

Chelsea were leading 40 after Palmer’s firsthalf hattrick and a goal for Nicolas Jackson when they were awarded a penalty after Noni Madueke was tripped in the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.

Madueke and Jackson then wrestled each other for the ball as the referee awaited a VAR confirmation, with regular taker Palmer standing bemused alongside them.

Eventually captain Conor Gallagher had to intervene to shove the pair away, grab the ball and give it to Palmer, who duly despatched it to make it nine out of nine from the spot in the Premier League.

‘‘The players know that the taker is Palmer. I am so, so upset about the situation,’’ Pochettino told reporters. ‘‘The image we sent to every single country watching. I want to apologise.

‘‘You cannot behave like this and to have to talk about it after such an unbelievable game is a shame. Players need to show that they are hungry to score but not in this type of situation. I won’t accept this again. I promise that.’’

Pochettino praised Gallagher for his intervention and left the players involved in no doubt that they are on thin ice. ‘‘Sometimes for young players the personal things are ahead of the team but they need to know they need to perform for the team and learn quick,’’ he said.

‘‘These are the type of things we take into account for next season. If they don’t learn then yes, we’ll take some decisions.’’

When he did eventually get around to discussing Palmer, the Argentine seemed to feel that the midfielder’s incredible night, and season, was almost to be expected.

‘‘He was a player always with the capacity to score when at Manchester City but I think the way he has adapted himself is fantastic,’’ he said as Palmer moved alongside Erling Haaland at the top of the Premier League scoring charts on 20.