sport news Mauricio Pochettino cannot escape blame in the penalty sideshow that ... trends now

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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.