Chris Sutton has dubbed Chelsea's dressing room a 'cesspit of over-inflated egos' following the on-pitch scrap over who would take the penalty against Everton on Monday night. 

Cole Palmer was already on a hat-trick when the Blues - who were leading 4-0 - won a penalty after Noni Madueke was brought down in the box, and having netted nine times from the spot this season was primed to step up once again. 

But his efforts were delayed when a tussle broke out between Madueke and Nicolas Jackson over whether one of them might take the spot kick, which prompted boos from the Stamford Bridge faithful until the disagreement was eventually broken up by Conor Gallagher. 

Palmer duly buried his penalty to help secure the eventual 6-0 victory over the beleagured Toffees, but the in-fighting within his side forced Mauricio Pochettino to stress in the firmest of possible terms that the west London side's leading goalscorer is the designated penalty taker and that future squabbling will result in punishment. 

But despite Pochettino's stern warning to his players after the final whistle, Mail Sport columnist Sutton suggested that the visible disquiet likely meant that lingering problems remain amongst the squad. 

Noni Madueke (left) and Nicolas Jackson (right) were both drawn into a tussle over penalty-taking duties against Everton

Asked by Ian Ladyman what he thought about the incident on Mail Sport's It's All Kicking Off podcast, Sutton said that he 'couldn't believe what (he) was seeing'. 

'Do you know the thing which stood out for me? I don't think Cole Palmer's missed a penalty. So therefore, what was the debate about? 

'It just tells me the Chelsea dressing room is a bit of a cesspit of over-inflated egos, overpaid players who think that they're the finished article. 

'And it also emphasises what a difficult job Pochettino has had on, has got on. 

'You need a harmonious dressing room. It's like in any walk of life. And not everybody is going to get on, but there are rules and there are standards within the dressing room and within the team which players simply know they have to uphold. 

'I don't know what was going on the other night,' Sutton added. 'Had Cole Palmer missed six penalties on the trot, then you could maybe understand a tiny little bit about Madueke and Nicholas Jackson getting involved. 

'But the fact that he hadn't, that was such a bad look. And it just showed that to me that Chelsea are a team in name and name only.'

For his part, Palmer said in his post-match interview that although he believed the disagreement was 'a bit over the top', 'everyone just wants to win and help'.

'It's nothing major,' the former Manchester City academy graduate added. 'We were laughing and joking about it, but the gaffer has told us now.'

However, Ladyman wondered aloud whether Pochettino's words would have the desired impact. 

'Pochettino has had a long time to get to grips with that dressing room and week to week, game to game, there always seems to be something else cropping up that suggests that he hasn't been able to do it,' he added. 

'I'm not sure how well that bodes for the future. 

'The second thing I would say - Cole Palmer scored a raft of penalties. He's now in the running to win the Golden Boot this season in the Premier League, which is amazing. But a lot of those have come from a penalty spot. 

'And two that I remember, I think last minute in that 4-4 game against City, back in late autumn, late penalty by Cole Palmer against his old team. And then at the back end of last month, penalty to equalise against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, high pressure penalty tucked away by Palmer. 

'I didn't see any of his teammates trying to get the ball off him on those occasions, did you?

'Easy to be desperate for a penalty when you're five nil up or whatever the score was at the time not so easy when the pressure's on and you're the one who's going to get all the grief if you miss it.'