‘Grow up!’ – Alan Smith slams two Chelsea players for arguing over Everton penalty

A number of players wanted to take Chelsea’s penalty against Everton (Picture: Getty)

Alan Smith slammed Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke for arguing over who would take Chelsea’s penalty against Everton, telling the duo to ‘grow up’.

With Chelsea already 4-0 up over a lacklustre Everton, referee Paul Tierney pointed to the penalty spot for a late foul on hat-trick hero Cole Palmer.

Jackson initially took the ball and walked towards the penalty spot but Madueke tried to take the ball from the Chelsea striker.

The pair briefly argued before Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher took the ball and gave it to Palmer, who has a superb record from the spot this season.

Even at that point Jackson and Madueke were trying to make their case to take the penalty, leaving Gallagher to push them away and allow Palmer to compose himself.

After the bizarre and unbecoming scenes, Palmer sent Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford the wrong way to score his fourth goal of the evening and put Chelsea 5-0 up.

‘That is poor, that is poor,’ ex-Arsenal striker Smith said on Sky Sports commentary. ‘Who’s the penalty taker? Cole Palmer. Give him the ball and let him take it. Don’t worry about individual stats.

‘Noni Madueke is desperate to take this! He is arguing with Nicolas Jackson. I’ve never seen anything like it, especially given the scoreline.

‘Grow up. I don’t blame Palmer for not wanting to give it up, he’s the designated penalty taker and the best one at it. Palmer stayed out of the squabbling but it was really poor.’

More to follow…

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