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Former Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli has slammed Chelsea forwards Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke for the penalty incident in their match against Everton.
The Blues thrashed the Toffees 6-0 in a Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge on Monday, April 15. While the goals were the key attraction, one moment received plenty of attention and scrutiny.
Midway through the second half, Madueke was fouled in the box, giving Chelsea a penalty. Designated spot-kick taker Cole Palmer, who had already scored a hat-trick, stepped up to take the penalty, but was involved in an argument with Jackson and Madueke. The latter duo both seemed to want to take the penalty kick.
Eventually, Conor Gallagher had to separate the trio and hand the ball to Palmer, who scored to make it 5-0 to Mauricio Pochettino's side in the 64th minute.
After the game, Dele, who was on punditry duty for Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, criticized Madueke and Jackson for the fiasco. He also pointed out that the duo did not volunteer to take an injury-time spot-kick in their club's 4-3 win over Manchester United earlier this month.
‘‘I think Pochettino will be really disappointed about it. The big thing about him is he cares so much about players as people as well and for them to do that is kind of selfish,’’ Dele said (as quoted by Metro).
‘‘They want to get on the scoresheet – it’s good that players want to score – but do it during the game. If you’re not the taker then just step away from the ball. I didn’t see them doing it in the last minute against Manchester United when the pressure was on.’’
He concluded:
‘‘They’re young players so they will learn from it.’’
Palmer has taken nine penalties for Chelsea this season and scored all of them. Madueke has also scored both of his attempted spot-kicks against Crystal Palace in the league and AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup. Jackson, who notably scored against Everton, is yet to take a penalty kick in his senior career.
"It's a shame; we cannot behave in this way" - Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino unhappy with penalty incident vs Everton
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was understandably frustrated with the incident involving Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke. The Argentine issued a stern warning to the players, stating that it was an unacceptable situation.
Pochettino told Sky Sports after the match against Everton (as quoted by The Standard):
“For me it’s a shame, because we cannot behave in this way. I told them that this is the last time I will accept this type of behaviour. Next time they’re all out. That is not a joke.
“It’s impossible after a performance like this to have this type of behaviour. It shows that we are in a process and we need to learn a lot, like a team, if we want to be a great team fighting for big things. We need to change something more in a collective way rather than thinking about individual achievement and it’s so clear.”
Pochettino reiterated that Palmer is Chelsea's designated taker and hinted that giving up a penalty to someone else would be the Englishman's choice. He concluded by stating:
“That is a really sad situation to happen and I don’t want to accept it happening again.”
Victory against Everton saw the Blues remain ninth in the table, but they are now just three points behind sixth-placed Newcastle United with a game in hand.
