Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has declared he wants Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson "to learn" - rather than be punished - for their penalty spat during the team's 6-0 victory over Everton on Monday night.
The Blues extended their recent unbeaten run in the Premier League to eight matches as they posted a dominant win over the Toffees at Stamford Bridge.
Cole Palmer was the star of the show, scoring four times to make it back-to-back hat-tricks in Stamford Bridge league matches, while Jackson and Alfie Gilchrist also got on the scoresheet.
However, the triumph was marred by a second-half incident involving Madueke and Jackson, who squabbled over the ball when Chelsea had been awarded a penalty at 4-0.
Each player is below Palmer - who has a 100% record from the spot - in the pecking order, and the episode was only ended through captain Conor Gallagher pushing his teammates away to allow Palmer the chance to take responsibility.
Not the first incident involving Madueke...
Madueke, who does have converted penalties to his name this season, attempted to take a pivotal spot kick off Palmer in the previous home game against Manchester United, a move that was not welcomed by Chelsea supporters at the time.
In the past, Pochettino has indicated the players can decide penalty duties between themselves, yet there was a stark change in tone when he commented on the incident post-match.
Later in a press conference, the Argentine was naturally quizzed on whether there will be further repercussions for the two attackers, but he insisted he wishes to take a different approach to the general wish of fans.
Pochettino said, as quoted by football.london: "No, no – it's not about punishment. It's about to learn. They are young guys, they behave like this. I think it was very good the reaction of [Conor] Gallagher like a captain. I think we cannot show that type of behaviour. That is a punishment for everyone because they all know if Palmer is on the pitch, he is the taker from the day he started to play.
"We need to remember also when it was a very difficult situation. Remember Burnley? The penalty – nobody wanted to take it but he took the ball and showed the personality from there.
"Look, that happened. We were talking. I can explain all of what we were talking about there. That is a shame. I can only apologise and say it's not going to happen. If they behave like a kid, here it is impossible.
"After the unbelievable game that we were playing from the beginning, to talk today about that, it's a shame and it's an unacceptable thing. We don't deserve to talk about that. I apologise to the fans and to the people because the way we behave. It's part of the process."
Will Madueke, Jackson feature against Manchester City?
Chelsea now start preparations for their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Saturday evening, arguably the biggest match of the season aside from the EFL Cup final.
Despite the petulance of Jackson, the Senegal international will almost certainly retain his place in the starting lineup, most likely down the centre of the attack.
Madueke's spot is far less guaranteed. With Enzo Fernandez potentially in a position to return from injury, the expectation is that the World Cup winner will return in central midfield, moving Gallagher into a more advanced role.
That would see one of the playmakers sacrificed at a time when Raheem Sterling should also return from illness. That would effectively leave Pochettino having to choose between Madueke, Sterling and Mykhaylo Mudryk for one place in the team. body check tags ::
