By JAMES COHEN
Published: 12:52 EST, 10 December 2024 | Updated: 12:52 EST, 10 December 2024
A bizarre video of Nicolas Jackson has emerged online which appeared to show the Chelsea star distraught after being substituted against Tottenham.
Chelsea, who found themselves 2-0 down against Tottenham inside the opening 11 minutes on Sunday night, fought back to triumph 4-3 over their London rivals to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool in the title race.
The Blues halved the deficit through Jadon Sancho shortly after Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski fired Spurs in front — and were back on level terms when Cole Palmer coolly slotted home his first penalty of the evening.
Enzo Fernandez scored his third goal in four league games to put Chelsea ahead in the 73rd minute, before Palmer netted a Paneka penalty to put the game beyond Spurs, who claimed a late consolation goal through Son Heung-min.
Jackson was substituted in the 76th minute of the match and without a goal or assist to his name, looked visibly upset when making his way off the pitch.
Now, a video has emerged which shows the Chelsea star with his head buried in his hands as he sat on the bench for the remainder of the derby.
Chelsea star Nicolas Jackson looked distraught after being substituted against Tottenham
The Blues star was unable to provide a goal contribution despite Chelsea scoring four
Though the 23-year-old endured a tough start to Chelsea, he's since racked up eight goals and three assists from his 14 Premier League outings in this campaign.
However, he couldn't add to either of those tallies on Sunday evening, which left him upset in the dugout. On his last visit to Tottenham, he scored three.
One contribution he did make, however, saw the Chelsea star stop a fan from winning over £1,000 with an act that is very rarely seen on a football pitch.
Teammate Fernandez, who has been the subject of criticism since his £107million move to Stamford Bridge but is now enjoying a rich vein of form, went to take his shirt off after smashing his left-footed effort past Tottenham goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
As he wheeled away to celebrate with the away fans, Fernandez had his shirt halfway past his head but was swiftly stopped by team-mate Jackson, who pulled down on the jersey to prevent what would have been a yellow card offence.
Referees are automatically required to book players who remove their shirts during a Premier League match, as happened with Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah against Southampton last month.
Although Jackson will have pleased manager Enzo Maresca, one punter will be ruing the striker's act of quick-thinking as it prevented their 200/1 10-leg bet from landing.
The fan placed £5 stake on the 10-fold accumulator and had nine of those legs return, with only a yellow card from Fernandez needed to claim the £1,005 return.
One video showed the striker looking defeated as he saw his number held up on the board
After the match, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was seen consoling the striker
The Blues forward was well marshalled by his Tottenham counter-parts on Sunday night
They also bet on Romeo Lavia and Pape Sarr to be booked during the game, as well as both teams to score and several players to pick up over 0.5 fouls or 1.5 fouls.
Despite scoring in the London derby, Jackson has been in superb form so far this campaign, chalking up eight goals and three assists from his opening 14 league fixtures.
Jackson himself is on four yellow cards and one booking away from a one-match suspension, while Fernandez only has one to his name so far.
The 4-3 win fired Chelsea above Arsenal in the Premier League table and just four points behind Liverpool, whose Merseyside derby against Everton on Saturday was postponed as a result of Storm Darragh.