'Pathetic': Pundit says Mauricio Pochettino should never pick Chelsea player again after what he did recently

22/04/2024 21:45

Michael Bridges believes that Mauricio Pochettino should have told one Chelsea player that he was never playing for the club again after what he did recently.

Chelsea look to be starting to turn a corner under Mauricio Pochettino. Their FA Cup semi-final defeat at the weekend was their first loss in any competition since their first game in February.

And the most impressive performance of the lot came as they beat Everton 6-0 in their most recent Premier League game.

Cole Palmer was outrageously good, scoring four times. Meanwhile, Alfie Gilchrist enjoyed a special moment as he scored his first goal for the club.

But it was not all positive for the Blues.

Chelsea player’s actions branded pathetic after Everton win

Chelsea were awarded a penalty during the second-half.

It is not unheard of for two players to row over who will take the spot-kick. But this penalty saw three vying for the ball, with Palmer having to see off Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke.

There was a sense of unease amongst a few of the players after Palmer did score, and some of the celebrations were a little awkward.

Jackson initially started to walk back towards the halfway line before being almost hauled over by his teammates to join in the celebrations.

It was certainly not the best look from a player who has not had the best campaign. And speaking on The Optus Sport Football Podcast, Michael Bridges insisted that the Senegalese could have few complaints if that proved to be his final appearance for the club.

“You know when I watched that, it was like you could understand why they’ve got such a young mentality in the dressing room, because it looked like a school playground. You could tell there was no senior head there. Thiago was at the other end of the field and the captain sorted it out at the end,” he said.

“I would’ve been absolutely fuming after the game with one of my colleagues, and that was Jackson. Because after he saw Cole Palmer score the goal, he didn’t want to celebrate with him. That is not a team player.

“If I was Pochettino, I’d have subbed him there and then and said, ‘see you later mate, you’re never playing for this club ever again’ because that is not the type of player and person I want to be associated with in a team environment and I thought it was pathetic.”

Penalty row has definitely done Nicolas Jackson few favours

Bridges’ comments are very strong. Ultimately, Pochettino was never going to bring an end to Jackson’s career over that incident. The forward is still a young player who should be allowed to make mistakes.

But there is no question that it was incredibly poor. And many rightly pointed out that Jackson and Madueke were never fighting for the ball when they were awarded a crucial penalty.

But it has definitely been a disappointing season for Jackson at Chelsea.

And that incident probably did him few favours as he continues to try and prove himself – especially as it was followed by the 22-year-old missing a raft of chances at Wembley this past weekend.

The post 'Pathetic': Pundit says Mauricio Pochettino should never pick Chelsea player again after what he did recently appeared first on TBR Football.