Mauricio Pochettino cannot escape blame in the penalty sideshow

Mauricio Pochettino made a prediction when addressing his players in the confines of Chelsea’s changing room, his mood not matching that of a manager whose team had triumphed 6-0.

He told them that the first question in his post-match press conference would not be on their brilliance, or Cole Palmer, or how nicely this set them up for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City. It would be on the penalty; the negative that marred the positives.

And he was right. Pochettino faced five questions in that presser, the first four on Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke fighting over who should take that spot-kick until Palmer finally scored his fourth goal on an evening where the embarrassment should have been reserved only for Everton.

What did he think of it? Will they be punished? Have they apologised? Might this impact who he selects to start at Wembley? Pochettino used words such as ‘shame’ and ‘unacceptable’, ‘discipline’ and ‘standards’, ‘wrong’ and ‘kids’, adding that this sideshow of selfishness was what will be remembered by the millions who tuned in around the world.

He was upset, nowhere near as chipper as he should have been after such a sensational victory as Palmer reached 20 Premier League goals, the £42.5million summer signing moving level with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot.

Of course, Pochettino cannot avoid a portion of the blame. Previously, he refused to name a designated taker, saying he preferred to leave it to the players to decide via their ‘feelings'. It was only after this embarrassing episode that he finally assigned Palmer.

Yet this was also proof of why Pochettino has spent much of this season warning about the dangers of an absence of maturity. It is a point he has made on multiple occasions, reminding us how he is trying to turn a troop of talented rug rats into a group of winners.

He does not want egotistical moments of madness such as this, the like of which will only lead to accusations that the inmates are running the asylum. He wants them thinking of what is best for the team above all.

This was a glimpse into that challenge. Chelsea were leading 4-0 and on the verge of making it 5-0 when Jackson and Madueke started to argue, shoves included.

Credit must go to Conor Gallagher for how he intervened, the captain rightly reminding his rowing team-mates that Palmer is their taker with a perfect record. It was another reminder of why the homegrown Gallagher should not be sold as some sort of financial get-out-of-jail-free card this summer.

Palmer scored, as he has done from 12 yards all season, ever since stepping up at Burnley in October when few others were volunteering to take on the responsibility.

Dele Alli discussed it from a player’s perspective on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, speaking intelligently on how easy it is to want to take a spot-kick when the pressure is off.

There was none of this squabbling in the 10th minute of stoppage time against Manchester United, after all, when Palmer happily accepted the heat as Chelsea went on to win 4-3.

Pochettino had to take a strong stance in the aftermath, saying in his press conference that Palmer is now his chosen taker and this cannot happen again. If it does, the culprits will be cut.

He will hope the message has got through to the likes of Jackson and Madueke loud and clear, because even in a 6-0 win, this was an explicit example of the immaturity that can harm a team, not help it.