Chelsea’s penalty taking decisions seems like organised chaos, that is the only way I can put it right now.
Mauricio Pochettino has recently admitted that he doesn’t chose a penalty taker before each game or say that there is one designated taker. He says it is more about being in the moment and whoever feels confident to step up and take it.
This has negatives of course, as we saw recently when Raheem Sterling tried to take the ball from Cole Palmer to take the penalty, and it was intervention from Enzo Fernandez who insisted on Palmer taking it.
The same almost happened again last weekend against Manchester City. Chelsea were awarded a late penalty to equalise the scoreline to 4-4, and Palmer slotted it away.
But according to Palmer, Sterling wanted to take that one as well! And once again, Palmer won that debate and put in a beautifully placed spot kick.
In words cited by The Daily Mail, Palmer said: “When I saw the ref give it I thought, ‘It’s my time’.
“I spoke to Raz (Raheem Sterling) and was like, ‘I wanna take it’. When I put the ball down I just picked a spot and put it there. I wasn’t nervous, not really. I have always tried to believe in myself.”