Thomas Tuchel insists the heated exchange between Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech was "normal" after Chelsea dropped more points at Brighton on Tuesday night.
Ziyech fired the Blues into the lead with a fine strike from range in the first half before the hosts hit back through Adam Webster on the hour mark to draw 1-1.
The stalemate on the south coast means Chelsea have failed to win any of their last four Premier League games, leaving them 12 points behind Manchester City despite playing one game more than the leaders.
The mood in Tuchel's squad has been troubled for some time after Lukaku hit out at his manager in late December.
The Belgium international later apologised for his explosive interview, but he was far from happy when the half-time whistle blew at the Amex.
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Lukaku was seen going back and forth with teammate Ziyech as they made for the tunnel, with the latter careful to cover his mouth so his words would not be picked up on television.
The Moroccan was clearly agitated too, as he did not celebrate his goal and seemed to stare towards the Chelsea bench, perhaps making a point after he was criticised for his performance against City last Saturday.
Tuchel addressed Ziyech's actions after the match by saying he would have "no problem" if he scored 20 more goals and celebrated none of them.
He was also pressed on the spat between the goalscorer and Lukaku, responding: "It’s normal that they talk, it’s normal that they are not happy, it’s normal that they don’t like it if we say that we want more from them, it’s normal."
Although the German manager was keen to play down the incident, Premier League legend Alan Shearer has no doubt there is "an issue in the Chelsea dressing room".
"It doesn’t look a happy camp to me," Shearer said on DAZN. "Too many players waving their arms around, passing the buck, looking for excuses, nowhere near good enough in forward positions from a Chelsea point of view."
The former Newcastle and England striker added: "It wouldn’t be the first time in Chelsea’s history that they’ve had issues in the dressing room and we know what happens when that occurs.
"When the ball hits the back of the net have a look at Lukaku, (Callum) Hudson-Odoi, (N'Golo) Kante, their lack of celebration, their lack of reaction, they’re walking back, heads down, there’s nothing in it.
"Bearing in mind you work all week to score goals and you’ve just scored the opening goal in the game, I was really surprised. I don’t need any more evidence, that tells me there’s an issue in the Chelsea dressing room."
