It was one of Eddie Howe's first team meetings at Newcastle United. "Put the interests of the team before your own," he told his players as the Magpies boss outlined his non-negotiables. These were not empty words.

There has been one constant as Newcastle pulled away from danger in 2022, qualified for the Champions League in 2023 and mounted a push for Europe in 2024 despite a crippling injury crisis - and that is togetherness. You only have to look at the genuine smiles on the faces of unused substitutes in the dressing room photographs taken after wins to realise that.

Those pictures are plastered on the white walls of the training ground as a visible reminder. There is even a huge 'no one loses if the team wins' sign across from the presentation room.

"In all successful teams, it's there," Howe previously said. "To be successful long-term, you can't have players thinking of themselves ahead of the team. The team has to take priority...when you see the other side of it and you see teams struggling in difficult moments, usually you have that selfish element within there."

There have been countless examples of that team-first mentality during Howe's reign. Rather than take the glory, Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes have even previously had the presence of mind to pick the ball up when Newcastle have been awarded penalties so that the taker, usually Alexander Isak, can gather his thoughts before they handed the ball over to him. Who could forget the moment the streetwise Trippier did that Nottingham Forest last season? You could not have witnessed a more contrasting scene at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.

Chelsea were 4-0 up against Everton and awarded a penalty after Noni Madueke was felled by James Tarkowski inside the box. The nearby Malo Gusto picked the ball up and Nicolas Jackson and Madueke raced to grab it off him.

Madueke got there first and went on to have a heated exchange with Jackson as they walked towards the penalty spot. Thiago Silva ran over to throw his arms around the pair in an effort to try and calm them down as Jackson walked away.

However, that was not the end of the matter. Cole Palmer, the club's flawless penalty taker, rightly expected to take the spot kick much to Madueke's frustration.

Captain Conor Gallagher intervened to grab the ball from Madueke and give it to Palmer - only for Jackson to then inexplicably sprint over to try and take it from his grasp. Palmer shoved Jackson and Gallagher followed suit as he pushed both the striker and Madueke away from the scene to allow Chelsea's penalty taker to finally step up and put the hosts 5-0 up.

Palmer, who scored four goals in the win, said the trio were 'laughing and joking' about the incident after the game. However, Mauricio Pochettino's reaction, even after his side won 6-0, was telling after Madueke and Jackson 'behaved like kids'.

"The players know, the club knows, that Palmer is the penalty taker,” the Chelsea boss said. “I’m so upset about the situation. In every country, people are watching the game and we cannot send this type of image.

"I want to apologise to our fans. Discipline is the most important thing for the team. It’s a collective sport. I’m not going to accept this type of behaviour. I’m going to be very strong. I promise it’s not going to happen again

"It is a shame. We cannot behave in this way, I told them ‘this is the last time of this behaviour'. It is impossible to have this type of behaviour after this performance. If we want to be a great team, we need to change and think in a collective way."