Mauricio Pochettino hit out at Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson for arguing over a Chelsea penalty, as he warned his players he will not accept a repeat of their behaviour.
The Blues enjoyed a near-perfect night at Stamford Bridge, beating Everton 6-0 as Cole Palmer scored four times to join Erling Haaland at the top of the Premier League Golden Boot standings.
The Chelsea star scored a first-half hat-trick inside half an hour, before adding a fourth after the break from the penalty spot, after both he and Noni Madueke were brought down in the box in quick succession.
With Palmer still on the floor as the penalty was awarded, Madueke grabbed the ball and march towards the spot, though Nicolas Jackson then arrived on the scene and angrily confronted his team-mate, attempting to grab the ball.
Palmer, who has converted all nine of his Premier League penalties, made it clear he expected to take the spot-kick, with the situation only resolved when Conor Gallagher snatched the ball and dragged Jackson and Madueke away from Palmer, as they continued to argue their case.
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Jackson, who scored Chelsea’s fourth before the break, had little interest in celebrating when Palmer did dispatch the penalty, and Pochettino revealed he spoke to the players in the dressing room after the match about the incident.
“For me it’s a shame, because we cannot behave in this way,” Pochettino told Sky Sports.
“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. I made clear to them and I make clear through you, to the fans, and to everyone, that Cole Palmer is the taker, and then if Palmer wants to give the ball to another he can do that but not in this way.
“That is a really sad situation to happen and I don’t want to accept it happening again.”
There were boos around Stamford Bridge as Gallagher pleaded with Madueke to hand over the ball, followed by cheers when Palmer eventually took charge of the situation. Jackson then made a final attempt to snatch the ball, as Palmer shoved him out of the way.
Palmer showed no signs of being distracted by the chaos, rolling the ball into the bottom corner for his 20th Premier League goal of the season, but Pochettino was still left frustrated at the sour note on an otherwise brilliant night.
“I am so, so upset about the situation,” the Chelsea boss said.
“In every single country watching the game, it's a shame, I want to apologise to our fans. Discipline is the most important thing in our team and the offensive players need to show they are hungry to score goals.
“But we need to make clear the situation - I am not going to accept this type of behaviour. I am going to be very strong. I was telling them. I promise this won't happen again.”
