Furious Chelsea star refuses to celebrate Cole Palmer goal after angry penalty confrontation

Furious Chelsea star Nicolas Jackson refused to celebrate following an angry confrontation over who should take their penalty against Everton.

Having led 4-0 at half-time, Chelsea were given a spot kick just after the hour mark. Regular penalty taker Cole Palmer, who’d already scored a hat-trick, was down on the floor and a debate between his team-mates ensued.

Madueke, who was taken down by James Tarkowski, wanted to take the penalty but so did striker Jackson, hoping to add his second of the night. The two got into a fiery debate but when Palmer got to his feet, he pulled rank and got the ball.

The ire continued, though, prompting Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher to come over and tell both Madueke and Jackson to let Palmer take t, having scored all of his spot-kicks this season. After he made it 5-0 with his 20th Premier League goal of the season, Jackson was seen refusing to celebrate.

“Dear oh dear,” said ex-Arsenal and England striker Alan Smith on Sky Sports commentary. “You’re 4-0 up and arguing amongst yourselves! What is going on here? That’s poor, that is poor. Listen, who’s the penalty taker? It’s Cole Palmer. Give him the ball, let him take it.”

After Palmer found the net by coolly sending Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford the wrong way, Jackson refused to celebrate. The Senegalese striker had to be cajoled by a number of Chelsea players – including Madueke and Malo Gusto – into acknowledging that Palmer had scored. After tapping his team-mate on the head, Jackson sprinted away to the halfway line, still visibly angry.

Your turn! Should Cole Palmer have given the penalty to a team-mate? Join the debate in the comments section.

Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer of Chelsea argue over a penalty kick

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” added Smith. “In this kind of situation, with this scoreline. Grow up! I don’t blame Cole Palmer for not wanting to give that one up. He’s the designated taker and he’s the best one at it.”

The Stamford Bridge couldn’t believe what they’d seen but it wasn’t enough to ruin a spectacular night for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Having scored a hat-trick in his last home game against Manchester United, Palmer bagged his first three goals inside the first 29 minutes before Jackson made it 4-0 just before the interval.

After the penalty spat, substitute Alfie Gilchrist scored his first goal and condemned Everton to their worst defeat of the season. The Toffees remained 16th in the Premier League table, two points from safety, although they still have a game in hand on all of their rivals apart from bottom side Sheffield United.

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