Chelsea is a ‘CESSPIT of over-inflated egos’, claims Chris Sutton on It’s All Kicking Off… Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson’s penalty scrap shows the Blues are a ‘team in name only’
Chris Sutton has called the Chelsea dressing room a ‘cesspool of inflated egos’ following the on-pitch row over who would take the penalty against Everton on Monday night.
Cole Palmer had already scored a hat-trick as the Blues – who were 4-0 up – won a penalty after Noni Madueke was brought down in the penalty area, and having scored nine times from the spot this season, he was ready to score another to go one step further. .
But his efforts were delayed when a fight broke out between Madueke and Nicolas Jackson over whether one of them should take the penalty, prompting boos from the Stamford Bridge faithful until the dispute was finally broken up by Conor Gallagher.
Palmer duly buried his penalty to secure the eventual 6-0 victory over the beleaguered Toffees, but infighting within his side forced Mauricio Pochettino to emphasize in the strongest possible terms that West London’s leading goalscorer was the designated penalty taker is. and that future quarrels will lead to punishment.
But despite Pochettino’s stern warning to his players after the final whistle, Mail Sport columnist Sutton suggested the visible unrest likely meant lingering problems within the squad remained.
Noni Madueke (left) and Nicolas Jackson (right) were both involved in a penalty shootout against Everton
Several players were involved in the fray before Cole Palmer – who has scored 100 percent of his penalties this season – could make a move
The league’s joint top scorer buried his try to put Chelsea 5-0 up against the flabby Toffees
Asked by Ian Ladyman what he thought of the incident on Mail Sport’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast, Sutton said he ‘couldn’t believe what (he) saw’.
‘Do do you know what struck me? I do not think so Cole Palmermissed a penalty. So what was the debate about?
‘It just tells me that the Chelsea dressing room is a bit of a cesspool of inflated egos, too many paid players who think they are the end product.
‘And it also emphasizes what a difficult task Pochettino has had and has been given.
‘You need a harmonious dressing room. It’s like in any walk of life. And not everyone will get it right, but there are rules and standards within the locker room and within the team that the players just know they have to adhere to.
“I don’t know what was going on the other day,” Sutton added. “If Cole Palmer had missed six penalties on the trot then you might be able to understand a little bit about Madueke and Nicholas Jackson being involved.
‘But the fact that he hadn’t done that, it looked so bad. And it showed for me that Chelsea is a team in name and name only.”
For his part, Palmer said in his post-match interview that while he felt the disagreement was “a bit overblown”, “everyone just wants to win and help.”
Mauricio Pochettino was furious with the players involved and issued a stern warning to them in his post-match interviews
Palmer was brilliant from the spot and pulled off a miraculous late comeback against Manchester United
“It’s nothing major,” the former Manchester City academy graduate added. “We laughed and joked about it, but the gaffer has now told us.”
However, Ladyman wondered aloud whether Pochettino’s words would have the desired impact.
“Pochettino has taken a long time to get to grips with that dressing room and from week to week, match to match, there always seems to be something else emerging that suggests he has failed to do so,” he added.
“I’m not sure how well that bodes for the future.
The 21-year-old also buried his strike against former club Manchester City in November 2023
“The second thing I would say: Cole Palmer scored a series of penalties. He now has a chance to win the Golden Boot in the Premier League this season, which is fantastic. But many of those came from the penalty spot.
‘And two I remember, I think at the last minute in that 4-4 game against City at the end of autumn, late penalty from Cole Palmer against his old team. And then at the end of last month the penalty to equalize against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, a high-pressure penalty tucked away by Palmer.
‘I didn’t see any of his teammates trying to get the ball away from him on those occasions, did you?
‘It’s easy to be desperate for a penalty when you’re five nil up, or whatever the score was at the time, but not so easy when the pressure is on and you’re the one getting all the grief when you misses him.’