Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson may have been motivated to try and take a penalty off Cole Palmer during Monday's thrashing of Everton in order to chase a personal goal target.
The incident marred Chelsea's best win of an extremely challenging campaign, leading manager Mauricio Pochettino to lose his cool in the post-match press conference when that, rather than the result and performance, was the subject of repeated questions.
The Blues were already winning 4-0 when the spot-kick was awarded for a foul on Palmer, who had completed a hat-trick in the opening 29 minutes of the game. When he was still on the ground, Jackson and Noni Madueke both raced to grab the ball for themselves.
Madueke managed to rip it away, pointing to his chest as if to gesture that he would take it. Jackson refused to drop his claim, leading Thiago Silva to come racing forward in an effort to defuse the situation. Madueke has scored two of his six goals this season from the penalty spot, but neither time Palmer – who is designated taker and had converted eight from eight – was on the pitch.
When Palmer got to his feet and went looking for the ball, Madueke didn't initially give it up and it was Chelsea skipper Conor Gallagher who then took it at that point to hand over. Bizarrely, Palmer being given the ball prompted an angry Jackson to storm back in and try and grab it a second time.
Despite the circus that preceded it, Palmer kept his cool to convert the penalty, scoring his fourth of the night and taking his tally of Premier League goals for the season to 20, level with Erling Haaland. His overall tally for the campaign as a whole now stands at 23.
The possible reason for Jackson's actions have since come to light. A report from the Daily Telegraph explains that the Senegal international has set himself a target of reaching 15 Premier League goals this season, even eyeing 20 in all competitions. It implies he may have seen a penalty in a non-pressure moment as an easy opportunity to push his number closer to that personal aim.
Jackson had already scored in the game, netting the team's fourth of the night just before half-time. It was his tenth in the Premier League this season, leaving him five short of his target with seven games left. It would also take seven more goals to reach 20 in all competitions, with Chelsea facing Manchester City in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday evening.
In video footage, Jackson appeared reluctant to celebrate with Palmer and the rest of the team after the penalty until he was cajoled into doing so by Madueke, Trevoh Chalobah and Malo Gusto. Even then, he only offered Palmer a quick and fairly anonymous pat on the back. The 22-year-old, who very nearly joined Bournemouth in January 2023, was still visibly annoyed when later substituted.
Perhaps having seen his error, the Telegraph added that Jackson is determined to finish his debut season with Chelsea "on a high" and will not risk that by repeating his behaviour over the penalty.
Palmer is the first Chelsea player to score 20 goals across all competitions in a single season since Eden Hazard in 2018/19, and the first Englishman since Frank Lampard in 2009/10. He is also the first to reach 20 in the Premier League for Chelsea since Diego Costa in 2016/17.
Meanwhile, Jackson's current league tally of ten is the same number of goals that Blues legend Didier Drogba managed in his first season at the club back in 2004/05.
