Pochettino fumes over penalty chaos
Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino should have been beaming after his team destroyed Everton 6-0 on Monday but rather than celebrating Cole Palmer’s remarkable four-goal display he instead fumed about his players arguing on the pitch.
Chelsea were leading 4-0 after Palmer's first-half hat-trick 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 you ask me about why we have no consistency or are not performing sometimes it is because of the standards and they need to learn quick because the demand is so high."
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.
"He is amazing for the team, for
him and he is showing that the club made the right decision in signing him.
"Overall I am happy with the performance. We showed a different approach than against Sheffield United, we improved in different areas and today was the perfect game."
Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw at bottom club Sheffield United on Sunday after conceding a goal in added time.
Everton have lodged an appeal
two-pnoindt against a deduction in relation to their breach of the Premier League's Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR), the club said.
The Premier League said the appeal will be heard urgently with a decision before the end of the season.
Everton were charged in January for violations of the Premier League's PSR in their financial records for a period beginning in 2019-20 and ending in 2022-23.
They were then docked two points by the Premier League on April 8 – their second points deduction this season – which meant they dropped to 16th place in the standings.
"Everton can confirm that it has formally lodged its appeal of the two-point deduction imposed last
week by a Premier League commission following a breach of the Profit and Sustainability rules in FY23," the club said in a statement.
The Premier League added: "For clarity and certainty for all clubs and fans, the Premier League will be seeking to have the appeal resolved urgently with the outcome confirmed in advance of Sunday May 19, the last day of this season."
Everton were also deducted 10 points in November after admitting a breach of PSR for the assessment period ending with the 2021-22 season, although that was reduced to six on appeal.