Even when they win 6-0, Chelsea find ways to make themselves ridiculous

It is well known that Chelsea is not having a good time: between the mediocre ranking, the overpaid players and a technical project that is struggling to take off, the Blues are experiencing one of the most complicated phases of their history. It must also be said that Pochettino’s team is showing a certain tendency towards self-sabotage, even on evenings when everything goes right, as demonstrated in the match against Everton on 15 April. In the 62nd minute of the game, Palmer, Madueke and Jackson lost almost a minute at the spot, between one push and another, to decide who should take the penalty they had just won. To make everything even more grotesque there is a detail relating to the score: at that moment Chelsea was already winning 4-0.

But let’s reconstruct the steps of this tragicomic scene. In the 61st minute Madueke dribbled into the area, then was knocked down by an Everton defender: the referee had no choice but to award the penalty. Madueke himself, having earned the penalty, grabs the ball and appears on the spot, when Palmer – who had already scored a hat-trick up to that point – is seen coming towards him and claims the ball as the team’s designated penalty taker. In this school atmosphere, Nico Jackson arrives at full speed, trying to assert his role as center forward to have the right to kick but in the end he only gets a couple of shoves from the former Manchester City player. With some difficulty, only Palmer remains on the spot, while behind him Madueke and Jackson continue to complain blatantly with their teammates, especially with poor Gallagher, the only one who had tried to act as peacemaker. Palmer kicks and scores the 5-0 goal, but it’s not over yet: while he celebrates – sadly alone – under the curve, the other Chelsea players are busy carrying Nico Jackson to congratulate his teammate, who takes advantage of the celebrations to parade with indifference next to Palmer and return annoyed towards the midfield circle. Here is the video that immortalizes everything that happened:

It wasn’t a pretty sight

In the end Chelsea won 6-0, but the media inevitably concentrated Also on the argument that took place near the spot: «Palmer is the penalty taker», replied a not very happy Pochettino after the match. «What we saw tonight won’t happen again, they can’t behave like children anymore. I have already told the players that this is the last time I will accept such behavior, it is not a joke. I want to be very clear once again, Palmer is the penalty taker.” We have no way of knowing for sure if behind this discussion there is only the choice to respect the coach’s wishes, or if there is a question linked to the title of top scorer – with the four goals last night Cole Palmer has caught up with Haaland top of the Premier League scoring charts. What we certainly know is that, even on the (few) evenings in which they manage to win without worries, Chelsea have shown their unquestionable talent in making their lives difficult. For the umpteenth time.