“Mad scenes” - Rio Ferdinand on Chelsea's penalty argument between Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke
Rio Ferdinand has weighed in on an on-field argument between Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, and Noni Madueke during Chelsea's 6-0 Premier League win over Everton on Saturday (April 15).
Palmer put on a terrific performance at Stamford Bridge, scoring four goals. He scored a hat trick in the first 29 minutes of the match while converting a penalty in the 64th minute.
The 21-year-old netted the first goal of the game in the 13th minute, followed by another five minutes later and another in the 29th minute. Senegalese striker Nicolas Jackson scored the fourth goal for the Blues in the 44th minute.
Chelsea were awarded a penalty in the 61st minute, which was followed by a disagreement among Palmer, Noni Madueke, and Jackson over who would take the shot. The 21-year-old Englishman, who has been the regular penalty-taker for his side this season, went ahead and scored the fifth goal of the night. He has netted nine penalties this season.
Former English center-back and pundit Rio Ferdinand took to X/Twitter to express his opinion on the argument among the Blues' players.
"Cole Palmer is the penalty taker ffs. Mad Scenes," Ferdinand wrote.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino also addressed the incident after the game, saying:
"Palmer is the penalty taker. It won’t happen again, can’t behave like kids again. It’s a shame. I told the players this is the last time I will accept this type of behaviour. This is not a joke."
English defender Alfie Gilchrist scored the sixth goal for Chelsea in the 90th minute, ending the match with a satisfying 6-0 score for them.
Cole Palmer becomes first Chelsea player to score in 7 successive Premier League games at home ground
Cole Palmer is now the first Chelsea player to score in seven successive Premier League games at their home ground Stamford Bridge. He is also the first player to score over 20 goals in one season at the Blues since Eden Hazard in the 2018-19 season.
The West London club is ninth on the Premier League table with 47 points in 31 matches. They have seven games left in the league, the next one being against second-placed Arsenal on April 23.
In his first season with the Blues, Cole Palmer earned the 2023–24 EFL Cup runner-up and now has a chance of winning the FA Cup with the club. They face Manchester City in the semi-finals on Saturday, April 20.