Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson picked up another needless booking on Monday night during his side’s win over Crystal Palace. Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino has twice warned the youngster about his disciplinary record, and repercussions are now just around the corner with Jackson one caution away from suspension.
Jefferson Lerma’s screamer backed Chelsea against the ropes at Selhurst Park, but they came roaring back with three second-half goals to clinch a dramatic 3-1 victory. Emotions boiled over in stoppage time as Conor Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez struck in quick succession.
Having come off with just over 10 minutes to play, Jackson was among the substitutes by the time the late goals went in. And he reacted by running onto the pitch to congratulate Fernandez, which earned him a yellow card.
One more caution in the next eight games would see Jackson slapped with a two-game ban. Pochettino issued a public warning to the 22-year-old earlier this season after a run of four bookings – all for dissent – in five games.
“You need to get yellow cards but in different actions, not for that,” he said. “Not so easy, not so cheap.” The subject resurfaced earlier this month when Jackson returned from the Africa Cup of Nations.
When asked about the possibility of a suspension, Pochettino said: “We already chat a lot. He’s aware [of the potential ban]. We are all aware. When you talk about something, these things happen. If you ignore and these things happen, you say why!? He needs to learn and improve.”
On his side’s Palace comeback, Pochettino said: “If you ask me if I am really happy about the performance, I’m 50-50, because we cannot approach the game and start the game the way that we started. That is the consistency we need to build. We need to be more consistent, we need to start the game in a different way.
“But I’m very pleased in the end because we have the three points, and now we have to prepare for Manchester City. That is going to be a good test for us, before the [Carabao Cup] final. I think we are going to prepare in a very good way.”